24: Live Another Life
by Joe's girl
Summary: We know how the paid writers decided to end 24: Live Another Day. My idea for how it should have ended is a little different than theirs so I rewrote the ending. See whose ending you prefer. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

So we saw the Live Another Day finale and know how the writers decided the season should end. Well, not all of us agree, right? Here's my version. It will follow the show until Kate and her team come up behind Audrey sitting on the park bench. At that point it will take a left turn into the AU. Let me know what you think. Whose version do you like better? Mine or the paid writers?

Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Fox and Imagine Entertainment. I wish I could have come up with Jack Bauer on my own, but sadly I didn't. If I had his life and the lives of so many other characters would have taken a decidedly different turn years ago.

24: Live Another Life

Chapter 1:

Kate crouched low between trees and surveyed the scene in front of her. Audrey sat stiffly on the bench. Kate could almost see her shoulders shaking and knew that the woman was terrified. What a nightmare for this woman who had spent almost a year being tortured by Cheng Zhi. Her life was finally back to normal and here she was being terrorized again by a man she thought died three years ago. Kate hoped that Audrey didn't snap. She needed to be able to follow directions. According to Jack, Cheng knew that he was closing in. Cheng would order his man to kill Audrey soon and Kate's options were deteriorating rapidly. She had to move now. She promised Jack that she could do this and she couldn't fail him. It wouldn't be right. He'd been through too much. She wasn't really sure what kind of relationship he had with Audrey but it was looking more and more to her like they were lovers. She first realized that there was something between them when she listened to the phone conversation between Jack and Audrey. Kate could only hear his side of the conversation but he sounded so sad when he spoke and his voice was so warm that Kate knew then that their relationship was a close one. It all became much clearer when Mark Boudreau got the text picture of Audrey in a sniper's crosshairs. Jack's reaction surprised her but not nearly as much as Mark saying, "She loves you!" That caught Kate off guard. Everything became clear. Now she understood why Mark Boudreau was trying to turn Jack over to the Russians. National security be damned; the Chief of Staff was jealous.

Kate brought her mind back to the present. She had to focus if she was going to pull this off. "Audrey, I need to get into position to get a clean shot at the sniper. As soon as you hear gunshots, run to the tree behind your left shoulder," Kate instructed her. This wasn't how she wanted the scenario to play out but, frankly, it was out of her control. She could only get off a couple of shots and needed to make the most of it. She took a deep breath and jumped to a standing position while shouting instructions to her team. Kate opened fire and, as the gunfire erupted, she saw Audrey heading to the tree as directed. At about the same time, she saw the gunman collapse out of the window. Kate let go of a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She turned quickly to find Audrey ducking behind one of the other agents.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Audrey answered succinctly. She didn't sound very sure of herself and was literally shaking from head to toe but trying desperately to hide it.

Kate didn't have time to worry about Audrey's state of mind at the moment. Right now she had to be satisfied with the fact that Audrey was even alive. She grabbed her phone and called Eric Ritter to get a tactical team to backup for Jack.

"Is Jack closing in on Cheng? Audrey asked as the team starting moving toward their SUV.

Kate answered tensely to the affirmative. She didn't want to sound worried but knew that she did. Audrey clearly picked up on her vibe.

"Is Jack alright?" Audrey asked.

"I don't know," Kate admitted. She barely had the words out of her mouth when more gunfire rang out. "Audrey! Get down!" she shouted as she returned fire and watched the gunman speed away.

"Got two men down," Kate heard one of her team members call out.

She turned quickly to find Audrey who was standing not far from her. Audrey's face was ghostly pale in the glare of the streetlight. Her hand was clamped over her side just below her heart. She looked vaguely confused as she drew her hand away and saw the blood.

"Audrey," Kate gasped. She ran to her and eased her down onto the bench all the while shouting out directions. "Get medical here right away."

A team member called for assistance while Kate frantically opened a medical kit and began placing an army field dressing on the wound. "Stay with me, Audrey," she begged. "Stay with me."

"I need to talk to Jack," Audrey whispered.

"Stay quiet," Kate instructed her. "Conserve your strength."

"I have to talk to him. I have to tell Jack something important."

"You can talk to him later, Audrey. I promise. I need you to lay still. Help is on the way." Kate pressed the dressing in place and dropped to her knees next to the bench. She reached for Audrey's hand and wrapped her fingers around her thin wrist to take a pulse. "You have a good pulse, Audrey," Kate told her to reassure her. "It seems like you're breathing okay. Are you short of breath?"

"No," Audrey told her as she shook her head. Tears drained slowly from the corners of her eyes. "I need to talk to Jack. He has to know something important before I die."

"You're not dying, Audrey!" Kate said emphatically. "You're not dying. We're going to get you back to the CIA station. Medical there can deal with this. I know they can." Kate didn't know if she was trying to convince Audrey or herself. "You're going to be fine."

"Please," Audrey implored. "Please get Jack on the phone!"

Sirens screamed in the background. "Okay, okay," Kate agreed. "I'll call him as soon as you're in the ambulance."

Kate stepped back as the CIA medical crew charged into the park and began rendering aid. They immediately began working on Audrey and the two agents who were down. Kate hovered over Audrey terrified of having to tell either Jack or President Heller that she had failed in her mission and that Audrey had died.

"Who put on the field dressing?" the lead medic asked Kate.

"I did," Kate answered. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all," he said with a hint of a smile. "You did a great job. You may have saved her life. You staunched the blood flow. Her vital signs are strong considering where she was hit. I've got a chopper on the way. ETA is just a couple of minutes. We'll have her back to the CIA station in about ten minutes. The President's flight surgeon and the CIA station surgeon are scrubbing now. They'll be ready as soon as we get there." He turned his attention to Audrey gently squeezing her hand. "Just relax, Mrs. Boudreau. You're doing fine."

The sound of the helicopter's rotors reached their ears and soon the air around them was churning. They were able to land the chopper close by in an empty field at the park. The medics quickly loaded Audrey onto a gurney and secured her into the chopper. Kate jumped in after her like an over protective parent. The medic looked like he was going to tell her to get out but Kate stood her ground and the medic thought better of it. He knew her reputation and he didn't want to get on her bad side.

"Please, Kate, call Jack for me. I need to talk to him," Audrey asked as the helicopter left the ground.

"Sure," Kate offered finally relaxing a bit. She took out her phone and hit the speed dial. "Jack," she said shortly when he answered. "I need to talk to you."

"What's going on?" he asked softly. His breathing was quick and shallow and she could hear the tension in his voice. "Where are you? What's all the noise? It sounds like a chopper. Are you coming in with back up?

"A tac team is on the way, Jack. Hang in there. They won't be much longer, but I'm not with them." She paused a moment. "Jack, something happened."

"What? What are you trying to say, Kate?"

"There was a second shooter, Jack. He ambushed us. Audrey was hit. She's doing okay. We'll be back at the CIA station in a couple of minutes. The doctors are standing by."

"How bad?" Jack gasped. "How bad is it?" Kate could tell he had stopped moving. He was giving her his undivided attention.

"She's hanging in there. Her vital signs are good. She wants to talk to you, Jack."

"Put her on," he instructed Kate. "Put her on now." Kate held the phone to Audrey's ear. "Sweetheart," Jack whispered. He knew that he shouldn't but he allowed himself to use the term of endearment. "You're going to be fine, Sweetheart."

"Jack, I have to tell you something. I don't know how to say this."

"You don't have to say anything, Audrey. Just stay quiet and rest. You'll be at the CIA station in a few minutes and they'll take care of you. I promise, Sweetheart."

"No, Jack, I have to tell you something important," she paused and inhaled softly. "Jack, we have a son."

"What?" Jack said incredulously. "Audrey, you've lost a lot of blood. You're hallucinating."

"No I'm not, Jack. We have a son. He's 11 years old. I named his Thomas Jefferson and everyone calls him Jeff.

"After you father's favorite president," Jack mused softly. "Honey, why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

"I didn't know it until after you staged your death at CTU. When I found out you were alive, I had every intention of telling you, but then Cheng kidnapped you. After we both came home from China you disappeared. When you resurfaced in Washington a few years later, I wanted to get in touch with you. Mark had me convinced that it was best for me never to tell you, but he was wrong. You need to know the truth. Please don't hate me."

Jack leaned against the hull of the ship, stunned. "I'm going to tell you what you told me an hour ago, I don't hate you. I could never hate you, Audrey. I'm just shocked," he said softly.

"He's a wonderful boy, Jack. You're going to love him. I know you are."

"I don't know what to say, Audrey."

"Jack, you have to get off of that ship. Let someone else go after Cheng. I'm scared. I don't want anything to happen to you. If I die, I want you to have custody of Jeff. My father told me that he pardoned you. I want you to go back to the States and raise Jeff. He need you. He needs a father. Mark has never been a good father figure for him. Jeff's always looked up to my father but now with the Alzheimer's disease, Jeff's going to need someone else. Jack, that someone is you. If I die, you have to take care of Jeff. Promise me that, Jack. Please!"

"Audrey, you aren't going to die," Jack said with as much conviction as he could muster but he noticed that her voice was fading a bit. Her speech had become slower and softer.

"Jack, promise me. If I die, promise me that you'll take care of him. Kate Morgan is my witness. I'm giving custody of Jeff to you."

Jack could hear gunfire in the engine room. He thought he heard choppers in the distance but he wasn't sure. "Listen to me, Audrey. I've got to go. We're going to talk about all of this later. I'll see you when I get back to the CIA station. I love you, Audrey."

"I love you, too, Jack," she said at just above a whisper. "Please… be careful. Let… someone else… be the hero… for a change." Her voice was now halting and her breathing shallow.

"Audrey! Audrey!" Jack called out frantically. "Kate, can you hear me? What's going on? Someone talk to me!"

_Sorry about that cliffhanger…no, actually I'm not! I'm hoping that's a good device to convince you to come back for chapter 2. It shouldn't take me too long to get that posted. In the meantime, I'm begging for reviews. Please take a second and let me know what you think. _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Kate took the phone away from Audrey's ear. "Jack, it's okay. It's okay," Kate said trying in vain to sound like she believed what she was saying.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. His voice was breaking with emotion. "Kate, don't let her die! You can't let her die!" He begged as if it rested in Kate's hands. "What's going on? How is she doing?"

"She's breathing, Jack, but she lost consciousness. The medics think she's in shock from blood loss. She's got a pulse and a blood pressure but they're lower than they were a few minutes ago. Listen to me. We're landing now. The medical team is waiting on the helipad. She'll be in surgery in a couple of minutes. I'll keep you posted." Kate paused for a second. "Go get Cheng, Jack. Do it for Audrey." Kate bit her lip to hold back tears then she swallowed hard and got herself under control. She watched as the medical team unloaded the gurney from the helicopter and ran to the building. She followed several paces behind and didn't stop until they entered the medical suite where Eric Ritter stood waiting for her. His stance, with his hands on his hips, told her that she was in trouble.

"You want to tell me what's going on? What were you doing out there running a rogue operation to save the President's daughter? I've got two agents injured because of an unsanctioned operation. Not to mention the fact that Secret Service is crawling up my butt because one of my agents knew where Audrey Boudreau was and that she was in trouble and didn't tell them. The President's family and staff are the responsibility of the Secret Service not the CIA. What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry, Eric. I didn't have a choice. Cheng had Audrey pinned down by a sniper and if they spotted CIA or Secret Service mounting a rescue attempt, they were going to kill her. I took in a small crew for a surgical extraction. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way it was supposed to. We got the sniper but we had no way of knowing there was a secondary shooter." The answer seemed to placate Eric so Kate decided to keep going. "Does the President know yet?"

"No, I told Secret Service everything I knew and they passed it on to Ron Clark. He's acting Chief of Staff right now. He'll tell the President just as soon as he can."

"Where's Mark Boudreau?" Kate asked.

"Secret Service is bringing him back from Knightsbridge. He's under arrest for treason. Do you know anything about that?"

"It's a long story," Kate told him. "I'm going to sit here in medical and wait while Audrey's in surgery. I'll write my after action report. It'll be on your desk in a few hours."

Kate and Eric turned in opposite directions but both stopped when they heard Gavin's voice. "I have Jack Bauer on live comm link." Everyone watched the monitors to see Jack holding a bloody Cheng Zhi in front of the camera. They all knew who he was but were forced to wait out the endless seconds while facial recognition verified it. Kate looked around and could see that everyone was holding their breath while they waited for the President to talk to Chinese President Wei. They couldn't hear the conversation but could tell by the look on his face that the two had come to terms. The relief in the room was palpable and President Heller allowed himself a slight smile. His happiness, however was short lived. He knew immediately that something was wrong by the expression on Ron Clark's face.

"Mr. President, I need to talk to you," Clark said as he approached the president.

Never one to mince words, Heller was blunt. "What's wrong now?" he asked. Heller was at his limit and everyone could tell. He had handled the crisis well but he thought it was over and he had relaxed. Handing him yet another crisis when neither of his two top advisors, Audrey or Mark, was present was almost more than he could bear.

Clark drew a breath and then spoke. "It's Audrey. She's down in the medical unit, Sir."

"Medical unit? Is she alright? What happened?"

"Cheng was apparently watching her, Sir. It's a long story, but he tried to kill her. She was shot in the abdomen. Right now she's in surgery."

"How could this have happened? She was at a covert meet with her Secret Service detail."

Ron shook his head. "Jiao Sim and the Secret Service agents are all dead. Jack Bauer sent Agent Morgan and an extraction team to rescue Audrey."

"How is she?" Heller asked. He no longer looked like the President of the United States. Now he looked like a worried parent, his blue eyes wide and full of concern. Almost involuntarily Heller and Clark began to walk down the steps and toward the medical unit with Heller's Secret Service detail in tow.

"The doctors are optimistic but there aren't any guarantees, Sir," Clark told him.

"Mr. President," one of Heller's staff was coming up quickly from behind with a phone in hand. "Jack Bauer is requesting to speak with you on a secure line. I wouldn't bother you but he says it's urgent."

Heller took the phone. "Jack, what's going on? Why do we need a secure line?"

"First, Mr. President, I need to know how Audrey is doing," Jack said.

"I'm just getting the details now, Jack. She's in surgery. My understanding is that the surgeons are cautiously optimistic. Do you know what happened?

"I know some of the story but not all of it. Talk to Agent Morgan. She can fill in all of the details. I'm just happy Audrey seems to be holding her own," Jack said quietly.

"Let's get to the point, Jack, that wasn't the reason you called on a _secure_ line."

"You're right, Mr. President, right now I'm on the bridge of the freighter with Cheng. No one is here to witness anything that happens so we can keep this between you and me. A couple of hours ago, Audrey asked me to kill Cheng and I'd like your permission to do it."

Heller looked around before he spoke. He was surrounded by Secret Service and members of his staff and they didn't need to hear what he was going to say next. He saw an empty office nearby. "Excuse me gentlemen, I need some privacy." He stepped into the office and closed the door.

"Jack, after what Cheng did to Audrey, do you really have to ask me if you can kill him? Do it," the President said succinctly and emphatically. "Kill the bastard."

"I just want to be clear that I'm killing him on your order," Jack explained.

"Since when do you ask for permission to kill an enemy of the state?" Heller asked.

"Since your administration labeled me a terrorist four years ago when I did just that."

"That's an exaggeration, Jack. You did more than kill an enemy of the state," Heller defended himself. "You had a personal vendetta. You wanted revenge and you hunted down those you thought responsible"

"To be clear, Mr. President, I killed people who engaged in terrorist acts directed against Americans and whose actions directly resulted in the death of someone I cared about. You can call that revenge if you like. What you're telling me to do right now is to kill Cheng because of what he did to Audrey. That's no different than what I did and I've paid for it for the last four years. I've had to give up my life and my family because of that, Sir."

James Heller was silent for a long moment. "Point well made, Jack," he said quietly. "And you're right. What I want right now is revenge. I want Cheng dead. I want to know that he can't ever hurt Audrey or anyone else again."

"I feel the same way, Mr. President. I'll make sure it looks like I was defending myself."

"Then come back to the CIA station. I know Audrey will want to see you when she wakes up."

Heller ended his conversation and walked out of the office just as the Secret Service was escorting Mark Boudreau into the CIA station.

"Mr. President," Mark said anxiously. "What's going on? Is Audrey alright? Did Jack get to Cheng?"

Heller was surprised by Boudreau's disheveled appearance. Mark was attractive and he knew it. His suits were perfectly tailored to fit his trim body. He hadn't allowed middle-age to expand his waistline. His hair may have been prematurely gray, but it gave him a distinguished look that he used to his advantage. He carried himself with a sexy swagger that, Heller noted, was present even as he walked through the CIA station in handcuffs.

Despite his betrayal, overall Mark had been a good Chief of Staff. Unfortunately, he had been a disappointment as a son-in-law. His marriage to Audrey had never gelled the way Heller had hoped and he regretted pressuring Audrey to marry Mark and give up on Jack. Even when they got married Heller knew that Mark would never love any woman as much as he loved himself, but he certainly cared for Audrey and had taken good care ofher. He loved her in his own way and his biggest downfall, other than his huge ego, was his jealousy in all things related to Jack Bauer which included Jack's son. Although they peacefully coexisted, Mark and Jeff had never had a close relationship. Mark resented the way Audrey doted on her son. What he never understood was that Audrey didn't dote on Jeff just because he was Jack's child. She, like most mothers, spend more time and energy on their children than on their husbands. Had Audrey and Mark had their own children, she would have loved them as much as she loved Jack's child. But Mark never got to realize that since he had opposed their having children from the start. The one thing he did understand was the more children Audrey had to take care of, the less time she had to devote to him. His ego simply wouldn't allow that.

"Mr. President," the senior Secret Service agent addressed his boss. "Agent Ritter has a holding cell ready for Mr. Boudreau. We'll take him there to be debriefed and charged."

"Thank you, but for now I think it's reasonable for Mr. Boudreau to accompany me to the medical unit. His wife is in surgery and he looks like he could stand to have the cuts on his face cleaned up."

"Audrey's in surgery? My God! No! Cheng shot her?" Mark gasped. He was sincerely distressed. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Gentlemen, uncuff him and bring him to medical with me," Heller instructed the agents who seemed to hesitate. "He's not violent and he's hardly going to escape from a CIA station. You can ask Agent Ritter to lock the station down if you like, but I'm willing to take full responsibility for Mr. Boudreau."

The Secret Service agents silently did as they were told. There was little point in arguing with the President of the United States. After all, he was in charge. Once in the medical unit, the President and his son-in-law were escorted to the waiting room where Kate Morgan sat with her head in her hands.

"Agent Morgan, what are you doing here?" Mark asked with more than a hint of irritation in his voice. "I thought you were with Jack Bauer securing the override device from Cheng. Obviously that was more important than rescuing my wife since your inattention to her ending up getting her shot!"

Kate stood quickly. She felt her anger rise. She wanted to remind Mark Boudreau that his wife would be safe inside the presidential quarters if he hadn't tried to hand Jack over to the Russians. "Mr. President," she nodded in his direction. "Mr. Boudreau, I'm so sorry that this happened. Jack sent me with an extraction team to try and rescue Mrs. Boudreau. We were able to take out the sniper but Cheng had a contingency plan. He had a second shooter that ambushed us before we could get Mrs. Boudreau to safety. Two agents are also down. We rendered first aid at the scene and medics were there as soon as possible. Mrs. Boudreau was transported by helicopter. She was stable and talking through most of the transport. The medics felt that she has a good chance of surviving. I take full responsibility for not anticipating the possibility of a backup shooter. "

President Heller spoke to her in a gracious tone, "Agent Morgan, I'm sure you did everything possible. Thank you. You said that Audrey was talking. Was she lucid? Was she in pain?"

"She never complained of pain, Sir. She was very concerned about her son," Kate said.

"Oh, no! I've been so busy worrying about my own feelings I completely forgot about Jeff," Heller chastised himself. "I need to talk to Jeff. I don't want him to hear this on the news." Heller walked to the door to speak to one of his Secret Service detail posted outside. "Call the Prime Minister's country estate," he said. "Tell the security team there not to let my grandson near the television, radio or internet until I've spoken to him." Jeff had become friends with the Prime Minister's grandchildren and had been invited to Davies' country estate while Heller was in London.

The Secret Service agent stepped into the room when he finished his call. "Mr. President, according to the security detail at the Prime Minister's residence, all of the children went to bed a little while ago. They'll make sure that no one tells your grandson about his mother and that he has no access to media until you can talk to him in the morning. They said that the boys have been getting up early, so you probably need to be there before 7 o'clocl."

Heller thanked him and sighed quietly. "If anything happens to Audrey I'm not sure how I'm going to tell Jeff. He'll be devastated."

Kate noticed that Mark never met the President's eyes while the older man talked about his grandson. She decided then that she needed to share Audrey's conversation with Jack. Mark Boudreau cared little for his stepson and Kate wanted to make sure the child was taken care of by someone who loved him. She cleared her throat softly and then spoke, "There's something that both of you need to know. While we were on the helicopter coming back here, Audrey asked me to call Jack for her. She spoke to him at length and she told him that Jeff was his son. She also told him that she wanted him to have custody of Jeff should anything happen to her. The medics and I can all testify to that. We all witnessed the conversation."

Boudreau spoke first, "What she said on that helicopter won't stand up in court. She can't be held accountable for anything she said after she was shot. No judge would ever consider her mentally capable of making that decision at that moment."

"With all due respect, Mr. Boudreau, if it comes down to it, I'll testify that Audrey had all of her faculties when spoke to Jack. Statements from dying people are accepted all of the time in court. As a law enforcement officer all you have to do is make sure they understand that they are dying and anything they say is admissible. Audrey clearly told Jack that if she died, he was to take custody of his son and she acknowledged that I was her witness."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Heller said reasonably. "Right now Audrey is alive. Until I'm told otherwise, I'm going to assume that she will live to raise her child, but I have to tell you Mark, if Audrey dies, I'm going to be on Jack's side. Frankly, I'm not sure why you would even argue the point. You've never had any relationship with Jeff to speak of. I've always thought you considered him an obligation since you married his mother. I think you better consider your own legal problems right now. I haven't forgotten that you forged my signature on a rendition order. That's still treason."

If Mark intended to counter Jim Heller, he didn't get the chance. Heller's private phone rang just as he finished his sentence. "Hello," he said.

"Mr. President, don't say my name," Jack said quietly. "I need to talk to you privately."

"Just a minute," Heller said. "If you'll excuse me, this is a personal conversation," he said as he glanced first at Mark and then at Kate. "Agent, Morgan, is there audio or video equipment in this room?"

"No, Sir, neither one in the waiting room."

"Thank you. I'll just be a few minutes." He waited while they left the room and closed the door behind him. "Jack, I'm sorry but I don't have an update on Audrey."

"That's not why I called, Sir. Mr. President, a few minutes ago I got a call telling me that Chloe O'Brian was kidnapped."

"Who did this? Is anyone claiming responsibility?"

"The Russians," Jack said tersely. "They've offered a deal to get her back."

"We don't negotiate with terrorists, Jack," Heller reminded him.

"This from the man who offered his own life to Margot Al-Harazi?" Jack queried in reply.

"That's different. That was my choice. I was willing to give up my life to stop the attacks, but as President I cannot allow you to negotiate with terrorists."

"Forgive me for saying this, Sir, but you're not really in any position to stop me," Jack told him. "The Russians are offering to return Chloe unharmed if I turn myself over to them."

"You aren't serious are you?" Heller said incredulously.

"As serious as you were when you went to Wembley Stadium, Sir," Jack retorted. "We couldn't have stopped Cheng without Chloe. She's been an asset to the United States and a good friend to me. I can't walk away from her now."

"Jack, you wouldn't be walking away from her. We can negotiate her release through diplomatic channels. It'll take some time, but we'll get her back."

"With all due respect, Sir, if I don't show up at the meeting place at the designated time, they will kill her slowly and painfully. I can't let that happen. I'm not asking for your help or your permission, Sir. What I'm asking for right now is the chance to see Audrey when she wakes up. I need you to get me into the CIA station covertly. If the Russians think I've come to the CIA for help, they'll kill Chloe. No one can know that I'm there."

"You don't know what you're asking. Between the CIA and the Secret Service presence here, this place is locked up tighter than a drum. I have no idea how to get you in without involving one of those agencies."

"Get Kate Morgan to help you. You can trust her. I'll text you a phone number. Get in touch with me when you have a plan."

"Jack, I'm going to say it again. You don't have to do this. There are other ways to handle it," Heller paused for a moment. "I know Audrey told you about your son. I made a big mistake years ago when I told you to stay away from Audrey. She never stopped loving you, Jack, and the fact that you want to see her before you go off on this suicide mission tells me that you still lover her, too. She and Jeff are going to need you. They're going to have to face Mark being charged with treason and my illness. I don't want them to do that alone. I want them to have your support. Come on, Jack. Stop playing spy games. Come back in from the cold. Resume your life. Be part of your daughter's life and your grandchildren's lives. Find out what a really wonderful son you have. We'll rescue Chloe somehow. I promise you."

"I appreciate the offer, Mr. President, but I'm the only one who can ensure Chloe's safety right now and I owe her that. Get back to me when you and Agent Morgan have a plan."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Heller stood and paced the room for a moment. He could honesty say that this was the first moment in his presidency that he felt too old and too tired to do the job. Even knowing he had Alzheimer's disease, he never felt that he was out of his league until now. After living this current nightmare for the last 12 hours he needed some rest and he knew he wouldn't get it. His mind raced as he worried about Audrey, tried to figure out how he was going to tell his grandson what had happened, decided what to do about Mark, and now, had to deal with Jack. He inhaled deeply and walked to the door as he thought that final part through.

"Gentlemen," he said to the Secret Service agents outside of the door. "Take Mr. Boudreau to have his injuries addressed. When that's finished, have him debriefed. When you're finished, let me know. Agent Morgan, I need you to come with me," Heller said as he stepped back inside the door.

Kate followed him silently. As much as the silence stirred her anxiety, you don't make idle chit chat with the President of the United States. Heller indicated that she should sit down and he sat next to her.

"That call was from Jack," Heller told her. He spoke just above a whisper and his head was tilted toward hers conspiratorially.

"Is he on his way here?" she asked.

Heller shook he head. "He wants to see Audrey, but there's a problem. Chloe O'Brian has been kidnapped by the Russians. They're willing to release her if Jack turns himself over to them and he's agreed to it."

"He can't possibly be serious. He must have an escape plan," Kate mused.

"I think he's very serious," Heller lamented. "No one in the world is more loyal than Jack Bauer. He feels responsible for Chloe's kidnapping and he'll do what he has to if it means she'll be safe."

"There has to be a way around this. When are they making the exchange?"

"Jack wouldn't tell me anything. Right now, I think our best bet is to get him in here to see Audrey. Maybe then we can talk some sense into him. The problem is how to get him into this fortress without being seen. He's afraid that the Russians might be tracking him and if he's seen coming into the CIA station they'll think he's welched on the deal and kill Chloe."

"I think I've got an idea. How do I get in touch with Jack?"

Heller gave Kate the number that Jack texted and she called him. "Jack," she said. "I've got a plan but you'll need some help. Is Belcheck with you?"

"Yeah, he's here. What do you need us to do?"

"The medical unit gets its linens from a service called Healthcare Linen Solutions – HLS. I'll send you their address. It's about a ten minute drive from here. You shouldn't have too much trouble acquiring one of their trucks. Get in the back and have Belcheck drive you over here to the loading dock. I'll meet you there with a linen cart. I've watched them unload before. The tailgate folds down to form a ramp so the cart can be pushed in and loaded. The carts are big enough for you to fit in. We'll put linens on top and I'll bring you up to Audrey's room. I'll give the tech guys some excuse and get them to cut off the audio and video feed inside the room. The hardest part is going to be keeping the medical people out. They're going to be keeping a close eye on Audrey since she'll be right out of surgery. We'll have to impress upon them that the President needs to be alone with her. I can't promise you any more than about ten minutes and that depends on her condition when she comes out of surgery."

"How are you going to explain a linen delivery in the middle of the night? It's almost 1am."

"I'll say that Audrey has some kind of soap allergy and the President has requested that she have hypoallergenic sheets. Everybody is tiptoeing around the President here. They'll do anything he wants. If I say that I called the linen supplier and set it up, I don't think anybody's going to question it. Frankly, it's a little crazy here tonight. Between caring for agents who were injured today and having the President's daughter in surgery, everybody is stressed out."

"Secret Service is going to search the cart," Jack reminded her.

"I'll have the President tell them that they can't touch anything because of the allergy. They'll run a metal detector over it, so don't wear a belt with a buckle or steel toed boots."

"Alright, you might have to do some ad libbing, but I think we can get away with it. I'm in. Send me the linen supplier's address. Belcheck and I will do some recon on the facility and figure out how to get a truck. Call me when you have any update on Audrey and when she might be out of surgery."

"Go it. I'll get back to you," Kate told him. She texted the linen supplier's address and then sat back down next to President Heller who was resting his head against the wall behind his chair. His eyes were closed but she knew he was wide awake. She sighed softly. It had been a long day and it was turning into an even longer night.

Jack received Kate's text and pulled the location up on his phone. He showed it to Belcheck and filled him in on the plan. As usual, Belcheck didn't question him which, Jack knew, meant he thought it was a solid plan with little room for things to go wrong. He was a good foot soldier; among the best Jack had ever worked with but at the same time, he could assess a situation quickly and find the holes in it. They grabbed some gear and set out to the location. Belcheck drove a convoluted route while Jack watched closely for any kind of a tail. He didn't spot anything unusual so they finally drove the SUV to an alley less than a mile from HLS and set off on foot. An abandoned car in this neighborhood wasn't going to be noticed before they had a chance to retrieve it.

Getting into the HLS campus was easier than either of them expected. The large warehouse facility and lot where its fleet of vans were parked was surrounded by an eight foot chain link fence. The fence was secured with a chain and padlock. Jack withdrew a pair of bolt cutters from his equipment bag and cut the lock. The two slipped in almost silently and stayed near the perimeter where lighting was poor. They quickly located a truck near the entrance that was unlocked and could be easily hot-wired. After checking another couple of company vans, they found a stack of clean HLS uniforms. Belcheck found one that fit him and changed into it, then the two hunkered down to wait for Kate's call.

Jack sat in the back of the truck trying to get a few minutes rest. He knew he needed to relax but he couldn't. He looked at his watch repeatedly. Why wasn't Kate calling? Why was this surgery taking so long? Over the years he had waited out literally hundreds of stake outs, sometimes for days at a time, and he had no problem with it. This time he had no patience for it. This time it was different. Now Audrey's life hung in the balance. When he thought about it more carefully he realized that everything hung in the balance. What if she died? How could he walk away from his son? He honestly believed that he owed this to Chloe. She was kidnapped because of him and he had to give himself up for her, but what about his son? He wanted to meet the child. He wanted to have the chance to love and raise his son the way he had his daughter. If not him, then who? If Audrey died, who would raise their son? Mark Boudreau was going to prison and, even if he didn't, Audrey told him that Mark didn't love the boy. James Heller may have been Jeff's role model, but he wasn't in a position to raise an 11 year old. Jack couldn't count the number of missions he had been on over the years. Once he was committed to them, he didn't think twice about the possibility of dying. He had a somewhat fatalistic view of life. If he was meant to die on a mission, then that was okay; that was how he was supposed to go. He never worried much about it in the past. He didn't want to die, but he wasn't afraid of it and he always had his affairs in order. When Kim was little, he knew he was leaving her in Teri's capable hands. Once Kim grew up, he felt absolutely free to take on any mission that he believed was right. But this time was different and he could feel the indecision creeping into his brain. He couldn't leave Chloe to the Russians, but how could he leave his son to possibly grow up as an orphan? It was too much to think about. Jack squeezed his eyes shut to try not to think about it, then he sent up a silent prayer: Let her live, God. Please let her live.

Kate sat quietly in the waiting room, her hands clenched in her lap in order to keep them still. Both she and President Heller startled when the waiting room door opened and one of the surgeons walked in.

"Mr. President," he said deferentially. "Your daughter's out of surgery."

"How's she doing?" Heller asked as he sat up quickly and straightened his glasses.

The doctor was slow to answer. "She's critical but she's hanging in there. If it didn't sound so ridiculous, I'd say she was lucky."

"How so?" Heller asked

"The bullet struck a rib and ricocheted down into her abdomen. If it hadn't hit the rib, the bullet would have gone right through her heart and she would have died immediately. Instead, it did a lot of damage in her abdomen. We did as much as we could, but she became unstable toward the end of the operation. I'm concerned that we didn't get enough time to explore. She may still have some additional bleeding. We're going to have to watch her closely. On the positive side, as soon as we withdrew anesthesia, she woke up and she's very alert. Her first question was whether or not Cheng had been captured."

Heller smiled. "That's my Audrey," he said with a wry laugh. "She's going to be fine."

"I appreciate your optimism, Sir, but please remember that her condition is still critical. We're almost certainly going to have to operate again within the next 24-48 hours. Right now, we're just watching her," the doctor told him.

"When can I see her?" Heller asked.

"Give us about 15 minutes to transfer her to the intensive care unit and you can see her then."

Heller thanked the doctor and then turned to Kate. "Call Jack," he said succinctly. "Then find Mark and let him know what the doctor said."

"Mark?" Kate queried.

"Yes, Agent Morgan. Like it or not, he is her husband. Legally, her next of kin. You might not like what he did but he does care for her. He never wanted for her to get hurt."

"What if he want to see her? What should I tell him?" Kate asked. "He can't know that Jack is coming here."

"Tell him that they're transferring her to intensive care and they don't want anyone in the room with her. If he asks about me, tell him they've agreed to let me see her for a couple of minutes. Depending on her condition he might be able to see her later."

Kate nodded her agreement and left the room. She quickly called Jack and set their plan in motion. Once he got there, she and President Heller were going to have to do some fast taking to convince him not to go through with the exchange. As she passed the holding room where Mark was being debriefed, she leaned in to tell him what the surgeon had said. He was clearly relieved and asked to be kept in the loop but, to her surprise, he didn't ask to see Audrey. It was as if he knew that the request was going to be denied. At this point she suspected that he was just happy not to be under arrest.

With that task complete, Kate slipped back into medical, took a linen cart and proceeded to walk toward the loading dock. Eric Ritter was walking toward her. He was the last person she wanted to see.

"What are you doing with that?" Ritter asked her.

"President Heller asked for Audrey to have special linens. She has some kind of allergy," Kate said hoping that it was convincing. "I arranged for an afterhours delivery and I offered to go to the loading dock and get it. They're stretched a little thin in medical tonight with all of the agents who were injured today."

Ritter seemed to buy it and went on his way. Kate's stomach did a somersault. She was good at lying. In this business you had to be. The difficulty was in lying to someone who knew how to detect it. She continued on to Gavin's station.

"Hey, Gavin," she said as she came up behind him. "I need a favor. The President is going to visit his daughter for the next few minutes and he'd like all audio and video turned off in her room."

"That's against protocol, Kate," Gavin said as he looked up at her.

Kate lowered her voice. "I know it is, but he's the President of the United States. What am I supposed to say to him? Besides that, his daughter may be dying," Kate laid it on a little thicker than necessary but what she was saying wasn't that far from the truth. "He'd like to have a few really private minutes with her. Think about it from his perspective. This could be the last time he ever sees her and he doesn't want it on tape. If it ever gets declassified, it'll end up on YouTube as a viral video. Give him a break. He's been through way too much today."

"I'll give you 15 minutes," Gavin agreed.

"He might need a little more than that. Can you just stop monitoring when you see him enter the room? I'll let you know when you can resume. It won't be much longer but give him more than 15 minutes."

Gavin grimaced. "Alright, but I can't go much longer than that."

"Thanks Gavin. I'll make sure that he knows that you went out on a limb for him."

Kate again pushed the cart as she made her way to the loading dock arriving just as Belcheck drove up, his company baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. She took the linen cart down the ramp from the platform and waited while Belcheck lowered the tailgate. She then pushed the cart into the van. Jack was waiting inside for her. He wasted no time in climbing into the four foot deep bin and didn't bother with any small talk.

"Okay," he said. "Pile the linens on top of me."

Kate grabbed a stack of linens and began arranging them. Belcheck came around from the driver's seat to help her. Once they were satisfied that Jack was invisible, they eased the cart down the ramp and back up onto the loading dock.

"I can take it from here," Kate said to Belcheck. "I'll be back in about 15 minutes." She tried to look nonchalant as she pushed the linen cart which was much heavier than it should have been. Fortunately, everyone was tired and busy trying to complete work in order to leave for a much deserved rest, so no one paid attention to her. She entered the medical unit and approached the door of Audrey's room. Secret Service were standing guard.

"Agent Morgan," one of them said as he stepped toward her. "President Heller said you'd be coming back with special linens. We need to examine the contents."

Kate tried to stifle her anxiety. Heller had said this wouldn't be a problem. "They're linens," she said lamely.

"We just need to scan them for radiation or metal. The President asked that no one handle them since they're specially treated."

The agent pulled out a handheld Geiger counter and swiped it around the cart. "Radiation contamination would have shown on our loading dock," Kate said as calmly as she could. She had expected the agents to pay attention to the delivery so she wasn't so sure why she felt as nervous as she did.

The agent looked at her impassively. "Mrs. Boudreau is in intensive care and two of our agents are dead because we didn't do our job well enough today, ma'am. It's my job to protect President Heller and Mrs. Boudreau. I take that seriously."

"Of course," Kate replied as she watched the agent run a metal detector around the cart. Her heart was just about jumping out of her chest when the detector sounded as the agent swiped it too close to the metal wheels. She relaxed as the agent realized what was causing the alarm to go off.

"All clear," the agent said. "You can go in, Agent Morgan."

Kate thanked them and opened the door. President Heller stood at his daughter's bedside, her hand tucked tenderly inside his own. He looked up expectantly, eyebrows raised slightly, when Kate entered the room and closed the door behind her. Once safely inside she began to pull the linens of Jack and he climbed out of the cart.

"Mr. President," Jack said in terse greeting. "How is she?" Jack's gaze fell on Audrey. Monitors surrounded the head of the bed and bags of medication and fluid hung above her, dripping their life-saving contents directly into her veins. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to stem the flow of tears.

The President smiled slightly. "She's awake." He leaned in close to Audrey and spoke quietly. "Auddie, can you open your eyes for a minute. Honey, Jack's here to see you."

Her eyes opened as soon as she heard Jack's name. He walked to the side of the bed opposite her father, took her other hand and brought it gently to his lips.

"Jack, you did it. You killed Cheng and you're safe. Thank God," she said as she struggled weakly to sit up.

"It's okay, Sweetheart," he told her putting some gentle pressure on her shoulder to keep her from moving. "Lie still. It's okay. It's over. He can't ever hurt you again."

Audrey's eyes drifted closed but at the same time she nodded slightly and her lips upturned a bit in a vague smile. "I knew you could do it. I never doubted you. Now we can be a family, you and Jeff and me. You can come home with us."

Jack didn't answer but he squeezed her hand and leaned in close to kiss her cheek. Audrey opened her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked. Her voice seemed stronger all of the sudden and she was more alert. "Something's wrong. I can tell. You're not saying anything. Jeff is the same way when he's trying to hide something from me. What aren't you telling me Jack? Is there someone else? Are you involved with someone else?" Her respirations and heart rate immediately started to rise which was not only bad for her condition but it could also set off alarms that would bring nurses and doctors.

"No, Audrey. No, Sweetheart. Calm down. There's no one else, Audrey. I've never loved anyone the way that I love you and I never will." He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead as she calmed down. "Everything is fine, Audrey. I want us to be a family, too. I want us to be together," Jack whispered as his voice broke and tears began to stream down his cheeks.

Kate touched his shoulder. "Jack, I'm sorry but we don't have any more time. I've got to get you out of here."

Jack nodded, trying to control his emotions. "Sweetheart, I've got to go."

Audrey shook her head. "You're going back out in the field, aren't you? Jack, please don't do this. Please."

He pressed his wet cheek against Audrey's and whispered into her ear, "Sweetheart, it's going to be fine. Everything's going to be alright and I'll come back to you. I love you so much. Get some rest. You need to rest if you're going to get better. Jeff needs you, Audrey. You have to get better for him."

The emotional exchange had exhausted Audrey. She nodded her agreement and closed her eyes. "I'll just sleep for a little while," she said.

"That's right, Sweetheart. Get some sleep," Jack told her. He kissed her once more and then stood up watching the monitors that were flashing silently above her head. Her heart beat steadily and her respirations were deep and quiet. Once satisfied that she was stable, he swiped an arm across his face in a vain attempt to hide his tears. He turned and motioned Heller to meet him at the end of the bed. "I have a request," Jack told Heller.

"What is it?"

"I don't want you to charge Boudreau with treason." Jack said.

Heller squinted as it not understanding. "What? After what he did to you? Audrey is lying in that bed fighting for her life because of Mark."

"I know all of that, Mr. President. It's just that I don't want Audrey to have to live through the circus that's going to take place if her husband is charged with treason. I don't want that for Audrey and I don't want it for Jeff. You already said you're going to resign. So, Mark will be out of a job anyway. You can make sure that he never gets another government job, but let him disappear quietly. Audrey can decide what further relationship she wants to have with him, but making her live through a trial and all of the media attention while she's still trying to recover from being shot is more than she should be asked to deal with."

Heller's blue eyes softened. His daughter was his weak spot. He nodded. "Okay, as of right now, I won't charge Mark with treason, but if Audrey doesn't make it, all bets are off."

"That's fair enough, Sir," Jack said. Then he took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to the President. "Give this to Jeff. No matter what happens to Audrey, I want him to have this."

Heller took the envelope and put it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. "I'll keep it for now, but I expect you to come back and be a father to Jeff." He took his wallet out and removed a picture of Jeff. "Here," he said. "Take it. You should have a picture."

Jack stared at the picture of the handsome child. He was at a somewhat awkward stage but Jack had no doubt that when he grew out of it that he would be very good looking. He could see a lot of Audrey and some of himself at the same age but it was James Heller's piercing blue eyes that stared back at him. He did everything possible to burn the image of his son into his brain and finally handed the picture back to Heller. "I can't keep that. If anyone finds it on me they'll use it as leverage. Jeff would be at risk. You keep it. I'm just happy that I got a chance to see it. Goodbye, Mr. President. It's been an honor serving you, Sir."

With that Jack turned and climbed back into the linen cart without looking back. Kate opened the door and pushed the linen cart out of the room. She waved at Gavin as she passed near his station to let him know he could reestablish the audio and video feeds to Audrey's room and continued on uninterrupted to the loading dock. Belcheck got back out of the driver's seat and helped Kate push the cart into the truck.

Jack climbed out from under the linens. "Kate, thank you. You took a big risk and I appreciate it. I really do. You better get back inside before someone notices." He knew that the loading dock was under video surveillance. If Kate spent too much time in the back of the van, someone was bound to question it.

Kate was undaunted. "Jack, this exchange is crazy. It's a suicide mission. We can handle it differently. You don't have to do this. I saw you in there. I watched you with Audrey. You two belong together. You need to know your son. He can't just be a picture that you looked at for 30 seconds. I can't stand by and watch you do this."

Jack turned away from her. He couldn't look at her. "I'm the only chance Chloe has. It's me they want. Once they have me, they'll let her go."

"I'm not arguing that point, Jack. What I'm saying is there has to be another way. We can track you. We can stop them before they take you out of the country. Once they get you to Russia, it's going to be almost impossible to get you back. We can't extract you from the middle of Russia. We have to stop this before it happens. Please let me help you."

"She's right, Jack," Belcheck said. Both of them looked at him in surprise. Kate wasn't sure she had heard him say more than two words in the hours since she'd met him and Jack had never had the man disagree with him in all the time he'd known him. "There are other ways. You don't have to go through with this."

"I've got to get back inside," Kate said. "We need to talk some more. Tell me where I can meet you. I'll tell Ritter that I'm going home. He won't question it; I've been here for the last 18 hours. The President is on our side. He'll help anyway that he can."

"Are you two sure about this? It isn't going to be easy. The Russians aren't going to give me up without a fight," Jack reminded them.

"We can handle ourselves, Jack," Kate said.

"Have I ever let you down, Boss?" Belcheck asked with a smile.

"Let me think about it," Jack said in a throaty whisper.

"Don't think too long. We're running out of time," Kate said. "I expect to hear from you in an hour."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kate pushed the linen cart through the loading dock doors and into the CIA station. No longer nervous about being caught, she looked around and noticed that many of her colleagues had finally clocked out for the day. She suddenly realized how tired she really was and wondered when she wound finally go home and get some sleep. Regardless of when that would be, she suspected that she wouldn't be able to sleep very well. Too many things had happened in the last 18 hours.

She entered the medical unit, dropped off the linen cart and made her way to Audrey's room. As she approached, one of the Secret Service agents stepped toward her. "Agent Morgan, may I have a word with you?"

Kate moved back toward the end of the hallway. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Don't ever do that again," the agent stated unequivocally.

"Do what?" Kate tried to say it convincingly but wasn't sure that it came out that way.

"Don't ever try to sneak something past Secret Service again." He stared sternly at her. "Do _not_ play me for the fool, Agent Morgan, I've had a _very_ bad day. We had a former CIA agent and the Chief of Staff take the President of the United States out from under our protection without our even noticing. A few hours later we had two agents killed and the President's daughter pinned down by a sniper and almost killed. It hasn't been a banner day for the Secret Service. We knew you were bringing someone or something into Mrs. Boudreau's room and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't pretend otherwise."

"How did you know?" Kate conceded.

"I've worked in the White House for President Heller's entire administration and there has never been any indication that Mrs. Boudreau required specially treated linens. While I don't work with the domestic staff, you can't work as closely with the First Family as I do without picking up things like that. Besides that, the President made a special point of asking us not to touch the linens. He could have asked us to use gloves but he specifically said not to touch them. The final straw was when one of your tech guys contacted us to say that he was disabling audio and video to Mrs. Boudreau's room at the President's request. The President would have made that request through us, not through you."

"So why did you let me do it?"

"We knew that whatever you were doing, you were doing it at the President's behest. Believe it or not, we're not heartless, Agent Morgan. We understand that the President loves his daughter very much and that she could die from her injuries. Whatever or whoever he wanted you to bring in was important to him and probably to Mrs. Boudreau. My guess is that you had Jack Bauer under all of those linens. Don't confirm or deny it, Agent Morgan, it's not worth the effort."

"What makes you think it was Bauer?"

"Please stop treating me like I'm stupid. Mrs. Boudreau's feeling for Bauer aren't a secret. She may think they are, but they really aren't. Her history of going to China to negotiate his release may not be known publically, but all of the agents know it. We saw the tension between Mr. and Mrs. Boudreau. Their marriage has been on the rocks for the last couple of years but it got a lot worse today. It didn't take a genius to figure out why."

"Okay, you win. You're right. I have to ask you not to tell anyone Jack Bauer was here."

"I'm not telling a soul. I'd look even more incompetent that I already do if I admit that I let you sneak someone in here right under my nose!" He smiled for the first time. "I guess my question is: Why sneak him in that way? Rumor is that the President is going to pardon him. You could walk him in the front door."

"It's complicated, but if anyone finds out that he was here, it could create a lot of trouble for him."

"My lips are sealed," the agent said. "We don't want to make any trouble for him. Younger agents like you may not realize it, but Bauer's something of a legend and a hero to federal agents in my age group. He's pulled off some amazing stunts and while he didn't totally get away with it, he isn't exactly in prison either. He's living his life on his own terms. Now if the president pardons him, he can reclaim his identity and go back to his family in the States if he likes. He might even get Mrs. Boudreau is she dumps that shit she's married to." He looked down sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to let my feelings for family members get in the way." He stepped away from Kate so he was no longer blocking her way. "Feel free to go back into Mrs. Boudreau's room. I'm sure the President is waiting for you."

Kate smiled and thanked him then moved to Audrey's door.

"Agent Morgan," he said. "If you ever want a change of scenery, we could use you in the Secret Service."

"Thanks, I might just take you up on that," Kate returned.

Kate entered Audrey's room and closed the door quietly behind her. James Heller had pulled a chair as close to the bed as possible. He continued to hold his daughter's hand in his own. It was the middle of the night and she knew that the man had to be exhausted but he sat tall and proud, his eyes wide and alert, gazing unwaveringly at Audrey.

"Is Jack going to let us help him?" Heller asked without looking toward Kate.

"He's going to think about it," Kate replied.

"Think about it?" Heller said as if the words were incomprehensible. "What's there to think about?"

"I don't know, but at least he's willing to consider it. An hour ago he wasn't even willing to entertain the thought." Kate decided to change the subject. "You should really get some sleep, Sir," she suggested. "I'm sure there's another room in medical that you can use or maybe they could bring a cot in here."

Heller stood and brushed a few stray hairs away from Audrey's face. "You don't have any children, do you, Agent Morgan?"

Kate shook her head. "No, Sir."

"Then you don't understand. I could no more sleep right now than I could when she was two years old and had pneumonia. Her mother and I sat up for three nights straight with her. The doctor said that she wasn't sick enough to be in the hospital, but we were sure she was dying. So, we sat up with her and held her when she coughed and held each other when she slept. We worried and cried for fear of losing her. I never slept as well as the night her fever broke and she woke up asking for ice cream. She wanted mint chocolate chip. I had to go to three stores to find it. I know it sounds foolish, but right now, all I want is for her to wake up and ask for mint chocolate chip ice cream." He stroked Audrey's cheek gently.

Silence fell over the room punctuated only by the humming and beeping of monitors and pumps. Doctors and nurses routinely made their way in and out checking vital signs and level of responsiveness. On one such round, Kate noticed that the nurse had returned in less than her usual 15 minutes. Heller didn't seem to notice but it set off an internal alarm for Kate and she watched the young woman closely. The nurse looked at the blood pressure monitor and then pushed a button to look at the history. She shook her head and without word moved to one of the infusion pumps that was controlling the rate of medication flow. Kate knew something was wrong.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

The question got Heller's attention. He sat up, acutely aware that something had changed.

"Her blood pressure has been falling slowly over the last half hour. I'm increasing the dose of one of the drugs and I'm going to call the doctor." She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket, gave him the details and announced that he was on his way.

The doctor was in the room in less than a minute. Like the nurse, he wasn't outwardly flustered, but there was a sense of urgency to his actions. He tapped on the keys of a nearby computer and proceeded to look at several screens. "She needs blood," he told the nurse. "Transfuse two units of packed red cells. Make sure we have an operating room standing by in case we need to go back in."

Heller, blunt as usual, spoke immediately. "What's wrong?"

"She may be bleeding internally. Right now, I want to give her blood and see if she stabilizes. If not, we'll take her back to surgery," the doctor said in a matter of fact tone that was somehow both calming and disturbing at the same time.

Kate felt her phone vibrate and was grateful for a reason to step outside. She hoped it was Jack and was disappointed when she saw Eric's name on the caller ID. "Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"We're finished debriefing Boudreau. What does the President want us to do with him? Is he under arrest? He's asking to see his wife," Eric told her.

"Hold on. Let me talk to the President," Kate said. She stepped back into the room and conferred with the President who was alone again now that the doctor had left.

"I gave Jack my word that I wouldn't charge Mark while Audrey's alive. I won't go back on that," Heller told her. "Tell Ritter that Mark can come in and see her." He listened while Kate transferred the information to Eric. Heller moved to the window and looked out. He sighed quietly. "I hope I don't live to regret this decision not to charge Mark. If I do, it won't be the first one I've regretted. I'm not sure why I decided to keep Jack and Audrey apart. None of this would be happening if I'd simply left them alone. Now I see that. They would have been happy." He shook his head slowly as if trying to clear it. "Nothing worse than a meddling parent, Agent Morgan, remember that when you have children of your own."

"I understand why you aren't charging Mr. Boudreau," Kate said. She realized that her voice was cool and detached. She was surprised that Heller was allowing Mark to see Audrey. There certainly was no indication that Audrey wanted to see him, but she said nothing. It wasn't her place to second guess Audrey's father and the President of the United States, but she felt unreasonably angry about Heller's decision.

Heller clearly saw the question in her voice and smiled at her. "Yes, I'm going to let Mark see Audrey. He's a lawyer and he knows his rights. If I don't charge him with something then I don't have a reason to keep him from seeing his wife. Like I said before, he's legally her next of kin." Heller paused for a moment and the corners of his mouth turned up into a bit of a sly smile. "He's also so full of guilt that seeing her like this may be enough punishment for him."

A few minutes later, Mark Boudreau walked through the door. The cuts on his face had been cleaned up and a couple of stitches placed into one particularly large gash at the edge of his hairline. A light purple bruise was beginning to take shape over his left cheekbone. He had shed his blood-stained suit jacket and tie. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows. Despite the late hour and all he had been through, Kate had to admit that he still looked well put together. He was nicely built and attractive. It was too bad that he had an ego the size of Montana. She didn't like him and didn't want to be around him. Maybe this would be a good time to beg off and tell the President that she was going home. She had been waiting around hoping that Jack would call, but as the hour got later and later, she thought it less and less likely that he would take her up on her offer of help. If she didn't hear from him soon, Kate was going to try and contact him. She really didn't need to stay at the station for that. In fact, it was easier to keep calls private if she make and received them outside of the station.

She watched Mark approach Audrey's bed and the guilt that the President mentioned was obvious. He stood at the foot of the bed and stared at her as if he were anchored in place. His lower lip quivered for a long second until he clenched his jaw to stop it. "How's she doing?" he asked when he finally got his emotions in check.

Heller motioned to the unit of blood hanging to Audrey's left. "They're giving her blood. The doctor thinks she might still be bleeding. If that doesn't help, they're taking her back to surgery." Heller paused to let that sink in. Kate almost laughed. Heller was playing this to the hilt. If Mark didn't feel guilty before, he sure did now. "She's surprisingly alert, though," the President told his son-in-law. "Talk to her. She's been responding to me."

Mark swallowed hard and took one leaden step after another until he was at his wife's side. "Sweetheart," he said softly. He wasn't sure why he said that. He rarely used a term of endearment and if he did, "Sweetheart" wasn't the one he chose. He had no idea that "Sweetheart" had always been what Jack called Audrey. "Sweetheart," he repeated.

Audrey's lips curled slightly into a smile. "Jack," she gasped without opening her eyes. "Oh, Jack! Thank God you're safe."

Heller leaned in close to Audrey, "No, Audrey," he started but Mark shook his head.

"Don't, Mr. President," he said softly as he took a step back. "If she thinks Bauer is here and that makes her happy, let's leave it that way for now. I don't want to cause her any further stress. Let's let her rest."

She may not have liked him, but Kate could feel her heart go out to him as Mark sat down in a nearby chair, rested his elbows on this knees and put his face in his hands. She and President Heller exchanged helpless glances. Heller sat down next to Mark. "Mark, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. I deserved that." He was silent for a moment and finally looked up at the President. "When we get back to the States and the dust settles, I'll file for divorce. It should be fairly simple; I'm agreeable to splitting everything 50:50. As long as she agrees, we should be able to have it expedited. I know you pardoned Bauer. He can come back to the States and they can be together. That's the way it should be."

"I'm sorry, Mark," the President said. "So much of this is my fault. If I…"

Mark shook his head. "Don't patronize me, Mr. President. This is on my head. I've known for years that Audrey never stopped loving Bauer. I tried to pretend that it didn't matter, but the truth is, it always did. Jack was always the 800 pound gorilla in our marriage. I think Audrey honestly tried to love me. I think she wanted to forget Jack, but she couldn't. Frankly," he snorted softly. "I'm not sure that I really tried to give her a reason to love me. I thought she should love me just because I'm Mark Boudreau. It never occurred to me that I had to earn her love. Until tonight, I didn't realize that Bauer is a tough act to follow. I understand why Audrey found it hard to go from a guy who spends his days trying to save the world to one who is simply trying to further his own career."

"You're being too hard on yourself," Heller told him.

"Really? That's pretty good of you considering that I forged your name on a legal document 12 hours ago." He paused for a moment. "Speaking of which, why aren't I under arrest?"

"Jack asked me not to arrest you."

"What? That's pretty magnanimous of him. Why would he do that?"

"Believe me, Mark, it's not because you're his new best friend," Heller said sarcastically. "He was worried about what a trial would do to Audrey and Jeff. If he thought it wouldn't hurt them, he'd happily watch you rot in prison. I gave him my word that I wouldn't arrest you as long as Audrey lives. I'm going to be honest with you, if she doesn't make it, all bets are off." Heller had more to say but stopped when he heard one of the monitors emit a series of erratic beeps followed by a high pitched whine.

Within seconds, the door to the room was thrown open. Before the occupants of the room could even process what was happening, a nurse ran in and headed or Audrey's bedside. "No pulse. No respirations. She's crashing!" she said to a second nurse who had followed her in. "Start CPR."

The second nurse stepped next to the bed and begin doing chest compressions while the first reached up and pushed a button on the wall behind the bed. An electronic voice could be heard over the intercom outside the door announcing, "Code Blue. ICU 4." The message was repeated an unnerving four times but it had the desired effect. An entire medical team came rushing into the room, one of them was pushing a large red utility cart from which he started pulling all manner of medical equipment.

The doctor started shouting orders. "Saline wide open. Give her an amp of epinephrine IV push. Charge the defibrillator. Call an anesthesiologist. She's not breathing on her own. She needs to be intubated."

The President stood stunned next to his son-in-law and Kate Morgan. They watched helplessly as the medical staff did their job which could only be described as controlled chaos. They obviously knew what they were doing and they worked in a perfectly choreographed routine. They had done this dozens of times before and it showed. Everyone knew his role. They gave medications and used the defibrillator to try and shock Audrey's stopped heart back into a rhythm. When the shock didn't work, they performed chest compressions and put a ventilator tube into her lungs so the machine could breathe for her.

Heller fell back into his chair, unable to stand, as he watched his daughter's slim body lift of the table with the voltage of the shock. Kate dropped to a knee in front of the President. "Mr. President, you don't have to watch this. We can get you out of the room."

"Jim, she's right," Mark said as he turned away. He, too, was no longer able to watch.

Heller was about to disagree when he heard the doctor's voice above all of the others. "Stop chest compressions! I'm getting a pulse. Check the monitor." Everyone stared at the monitor for the next few seconds. "Not a great rhythm, but it's stable for now. Is the surgical team ready?"

"They're standing by," an older nurse called from near the door.

"Get her to the OR. I'll scrub and meet you there in a few minutes." The surgeon turned toward the President and Mark Boudreau. "Gentlemen," he nodded. "I'm going to do everything I can, but I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you that this doesn't look good. I'm not sure we can save her. She's losing a lot of blood and I'm not sure where it's coming from. If I can't find it fast and repair it, I'm going to lose her."

Mark found his voice first. "We understand," he said, his voice wavering. "Please do everything you can. She has a young son who really needs her."

"Of course," the doctor returned with a gentle nod of his head. "I've got to get scrubbed. The faster we get Mrs. Boudreau into surgery the better chance she has." With that he turned and strode quickly out of the room.

Kate pulled out her phone and called the last number that she had for Jack. It was a burn phone and she didn't know if he still had it on him. If Jack actually wanted to be contacted, he wouldn't be using a burn phone. Kate was a little surprised when he answered. She left the room and stepped into an empty waiting room that she knew had no video or audio monitoring. "Hey, it's me. Look, things have changed here."

"What's going on?" Jack asked anxiously. "Is Audrey okay?"

"No, Jack, she isn't. She going back to the operating room. The surgeon said he's not sure she's going to make it. Jack you have to give up this plan. Audrey may die and your son needs at least one parent. You can't go through with this. Jeff needs you."

"I can't let Chloe die, Kate," Jack hissed. "I can't live with myself if I do."

"Okay, I get it, but at least let me help you get Chloe back and keep the Russians from taking you out of the country. Please, Jack, we can do this," Kate implored.

Jack was silent for a moment. "It's not just Chloe that I'm worried about. I'm afraid that if the Russians get wind of this that they'll target my daughter and her family or even Audrey and Jeff."

"I can arrange to have security put on your daughter and extra security of Audrey and Jeff."

"How are you going to do that without involving the CIA?"

"Let me talk to one of the Secret Service agents. It's a long story, but they're on your side, Jack. I'm pretty sure I can convince them to help me without giving you up. You have to trust me on this. Earlier today you asked me to trust you when we went to see the arms dealer. I did it. I put my life in your hands. Now I need you to do the same for me," Kate told him.

"You really think you can do this?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Jack. I really think that you and Belcheck and I can come up with a plan. Where can we meet to talk about it?"

"I'll text you an address. Make sure you're not followed." Jack said.

"Don't worry. I'll be there as soon as I can."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kate returned to the waiting area outside of the operating room. Mark Boudreau paced the floor in front of the windows. He looked absolutely despondent and Kate was suddenly happy that the large windows didn't open. If they did, she would have worried about him jumping. James Heller sat quietly staring into space. Kate approached him and sat down. She spoke quietly not wanting Mark to overhear the conversation.

"I talked to _him_," she said succinctly.

Heller raised his eyebrows questioningly. "And?"

"He's going to let us help him."

"Thank God!" Heller exhaled softly.

"I'm going to meet him and work out a plan. Here's my cell number so you can get in touch with me when you get any news about Audrey," Kate said as she handed him the CIA's rather generic version of a business card.

Heller took the card and tucked it into his pocket. "Thank you, Agent Morgan. I can't tell you how much this means to me and to Audrey. My grandson needs a father. Bring _him_ back alive. "

"I'll do everything I can to make sure that happens," Kate said.

She left the room and approached the Secret Service agent who had upbraided her earlier. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked as she continued to move a distance up the hall. He took the hint and followed her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Earlier you said that you hoped Jack Bauer would get to go back to the US and live a normal life. Well, he's in trouble right now and I was hoping that you could help," Kate explained.

"I'm not sure what I can do. What does he need?"

"It's complicated. You know the Russians are after him and I think we can deal with that, but he's worried that they might go after people that he loves in order to get him. He wants extra security on Mrs. Boudreau and her son."

"That's easy," the agent noted. "Something tells me that isn't all you need."

"He also wants protection placed on his daughter and her family in California."

"That's out of my jurisdiction," the agent told her as he shook his head.

"I know it is," Kate admitted. "Is there any way you can swing it? It would just be for a few hours or maybe a day. If it goes on longer than that it means the operation failed and we'll have to bring in the CIA. Right now, I'm not sure who I can trust, but I know I can trust you. I know you have a Secret Service detail at the President's beach house in Malibu. Jack's daughter lives in LA. It wouldn't be that far away. Could you just put a couple of agents on her?"

The agent looked away for a second, sighed and turned back to her. "You got it. I can give you 24 hours. That's it. After that you have to arrange security."

"Deal," Kate said. "Here's my phone number," she said as she handed him her card. "Call me when security is in place."

Kate headed for the exit stopping on the way to tell Eric that she was leaving and to drop off her after action report. She could hear Jack's voice telling her to make sure that she wasn't followed. It seemed like a little paranoia on his end, but considering his track record, she thought it best to follow his advice Part of not being tailed involved making yourself difficult to follow. She got in her car and drove home where she went inside and turned on a couple of lights. If anyone was watching they would think she was home for the night. She drew curtains and made her way to the bedroom. In the bedroom, she put on lights and pulled the blind down making sure that it was open enough to allow some light to show through the window onto the street in front of her flat. She put the light on a timer so that it would go off in a half hour. If someone was watching, it would look like she came home and went to bed.

With lights now set, she opened her closet. Her plan was to leave home via a rear exit and walk a few blocks to a trendy club district. There she would be able to get a cab to take her to Jack's location, but if she was walking through a club district, she had to look the part. Quickly, she found a fashionable tote bag. It was big enough for her laptop plus a gun and spare ammo, but not large enough to look suspicious. She was still wearing black fatigues and didn't have time to change. Besides that, she would probably need the fatigues later on, so changing into club wear wasn't practical. Scanning the closed, Kate grabbed a denim jacket. She added a chunky metal necklace and earrings. The outfit had the look of dressed up grunge which wouldn't look out of place.

Now set for her meeting with Jack, Kate headed out of her bedroom, turned off the lights in the entrance and hallway and slipped out the back door. She walked briskly to the club where she found a long line of cabs waiting for the club patrons to start heading for home. She randomly chose a cab and gave the driver an address a couple of blocks from the one Jack had given her. The cabbie chatted happily as he drove asking Kate the usual questions. She used her best British accent and gave vague answers. She wanted to make sure that she didn't give him any reason to remember her. She was grateful when her phone rang since it gave her a chance to avoid more conversation with the cab driver. It was her new friend from Secret Service letting her know that he had put protection on Kim and her family. Kate thanked him and said goodbye just as the taxi pulled over to the curb to let her out. She paid the fare and gave a reasonable tip. Again, she didn't want him to have a reason to remember her. A tip that was too big or too small turned you into a fare that a cab driver remembered. Once out of the cab, she walked in the wrong direction purposefully until the cab was out of sight, then she turned and headed to Jack's location.

That location was an abandoned warehouse in the middle of an industrial neighborhood. It was well hidden. Kate took out her phone and called Jack to let him know she was on her way. The last thing she wanted to do was walk up unannounced on someone who was both well-armed and nervous. "I'm a half block away," she told Jack as he answered. "Don't shoot."

As she approached the door, it opened just enough for Jack to look out and level his weapon. Once he was sure that Kate was alone, he lowered the gun and opened the door just enough to let her in. "You sure you weren't followed?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm not an amateur, Jack. I wasn't followed."

"And you've got protection placed on my family?" Jack asked.

"Secret Service is taking care of it. Don't worry about it. Let's get to work." Kate set her bag down and pulled out the laptop. "When is the exchange taking place?" she asked as the laptop powered up.

"Eleven o'clock," Jack told her.

Kate looked at her watch. "It's almost 4 a.m. That gives us 7 hours," she noted. "What's the location?"

Jack turned his laptop so that Kate could see the satellite image. "Right here," he said pointing.

Kate studied the scene. "One road in and out," she noted. "You'll drive in that way and block their exit, so they have to come in from the air."

"That's what we thought. They can land a helicopter over here," Jack pointed at an area on the monitor and then enlarged it.

"And they'll probably have snipers on these buildings," Belckeck said moving the cursor across the scene.

Kate nodded her agreement. "That's going to be a tough position to defend. Our only hope would be to get a tactical team in there before they get their snipers in place."

"We can't risk it," Jack said. "Like you said, there's only one road in, we have to assume that they've had it staked out ever since I agreed to the exchange. I'm going to have to get in the chopper. Any rescue attempt is going to have to take place somewhere else."

Kate shook her head. "Once you're in the chopper we lose all control. We don't know where they're taking you. For that matter, we don't even know if they plan to keep you alive."

Jack disagreed with her. "They won't kill me. I'm more valuable alive. They want to extract information."

"I don't know, Jack," Kate said. "You've been out of the game for four years. Your access to information is limited."

"True," Jack agreed. "But I still have enough information to make torture worth their while. Once they extract it, they _will _kill me."

Kate was stunned by the unemotional tone in his voice. She had never met anyone who was willing to predict his own torture and death without flinching, without sounding scared or angry. She quickly pushed her thoughts aside. The point of being here was to get Chloe back and keep Jack alive. Kate needed to refocus on the goal. "So the key here is to let the chopper take off with you in it, but we can't let the Russians take you out of British air space. Once you leave the UK, a rescue becomes close to impossible, especially if you're in Russia."

"We came to the same conclusion," Jack agreed. He tapped his keyboard and brought up schematics on two helicopters. "Unless the Russians have contacts that we don't know about, these are the only two types of helicopters that they have access to on short notice. Both of them have a limited range. They can't get me out of the UK and into a sympathetic country."

"The only option is to get you to an airport and fly you out of the country and they have to do it fast. They have to know that once she's released, Chloe is going straight to the authorities," Kate noted. "We need to find out where the Russian diplomats keep their private plane."

This time it was Belcheck who spoke. "I have a contact who's pretty sure that Stolnavich came in through Stansted. That would be well within their helicopter's flight radius. They could be there in less than 10 minutes from the exchange site."

Kate didn't look convinced. "Stansted is closer but they can't land a chopper there. That means they have to land the chopper somewhere else and use ground transportation to get Jack to the airport. That's time consuming. We're talking 11 o'clock. They'll have to contend with traffic. Southend is smaller and easier to get in and out of. They can land a chopper there. If I had to guess, I'd go with Southend."

"Either way we're just guessing," Jack said. "We don't have the manpower to put a team at two airports."

"What do you have in the way of manpower?" Kate asked.

"Belcheck and I have four guys we can trust. With the two of you that makes six. Chloe can give you technical support," Jack told her.

"Can Chloe use satellite to track the chopper? She'll be able to figure out the destination within a couple of minutes after takeoff. Then we notify airport security and have them stall until we can get there," Kate suggested.

"I don't like it," Jack said. "We don't know if the Russians have anyone on the inside at the airport. They could easily put a man in security or even tap into security transmissions. If that's the case, they know that we're on our way. At that point they go to their contingency plan. We have to go into that airport silently."

Kate was exasperated. She pushed back from the table more forcefully than necessary, then stood and began to pace. "Jack you're asking for the impossible. We can't execute a mission this complicated with six field operatives and one techie. It can't be done. Please let me bring in the CIA," Kate implored. "It's a covert organization, for heaven's sake! We can keep it quiet. The Russians won't find out."

"Oh yeah," Jack scoffed. "I seem to remember that a few hours ago we were tracking down your head of station who was working with Adrian Cross and by the way, he's the same man who framed your husband. And I'm sure you know my history. My wife was murdered by a CIA mole. Pardon me if I don't think the CIA is the safest group to get involved with!"

"Okay, you're right. It's possible that there's been a breach at the CIA, but it's the best we've got at the moment. Jack, think about it. Your concern is that our cover will be blown. I understand that. So what if it is blown? What are the Russians going to do? If you're concerned that they'll go after your family, we've already got extra protection on all of them. That means the only variable left is Chloe. We're not throwing her to the wolves, but yes, there is some risk to her. We can't do any better than that, Jack. When do you ever rescue a hostage that you haven't put in some degree of risk? You need to remember that Chloe isn't entirely blameless in all of this. She was helping Adrian Cross. Without her assistance, the override device wouldn't have been built. I know she was duped by Cross, but she still helped him."

"That doesn't mean that I should let the Russians kill her!" Jack shouted, jumping to his feet. He was suddenly very angry. "Get out, Kate! If that's the way you feel, if you think Chloe O'Brian is an acceptable loss, then get out now! We can't effectively make plans if you won't take Chloe's safety seriously."

Belcheck stepped between them. "Easy, Jack," he said calmly. "Nobody considers Chloe an acceptable loss, but Kate has a point. We only have a few hours and limited resources. Bringing in the CIA would solve a lot of problems. If you were being honest with yourself, you know that you can't really guarantee Chloe's safety by giving yourself up. Once you get into the helicopter, one of those snipers that they'll have posted could shoot Chloe and me and you can't do anything about it. So bringing in the CIA isn't that much of a risk."

Jack turned his head and looked away, not wanting to acknowledge that Belcheck was right.

"Jack we can limit the risk," Kate said quietly. "I know Chloe is your friend and I know you don't want anything to happen to her, but right now you have to consider your son. He's far more innocent and vulnerable. He's eleven years old, Jack, and his mother is critically injured. I watched doctors restart her heart in order to get her to surgery. The doctor didn't paint a very rosy picture when he talked to the President. What happens if Audrey doesn't make it through surgery? Do you want Jeff to be left to a grandfather that has Alzheimer's disease? Or worse, do you want to leave him to a stepfather who doesn't love him? This is your choice, Jack. I know you can't walk away from Chloe, but can you walk away from your son? For the last four years, you've been the lone ranger, running around the world seeking justice for anyone you thought deserved it but it's over now. You're not alone anymore. You have Jeff to take care of. And if Audrey pulls through, she's going to have a long recovery. She'll need you. She loves you, Jack."

Tears filled Jack's eyes and he made no attempt to hide them. Kate knew how sad and scared he must be to allow her to see those tears. She knew how hard he had tried to keep anyone from seeing him cry at the hospital. "She can't die," he whispered in an emotional voice. "She can't die. Jeff needs her. Her father needs her." He covered his face with his hands.

"And you need her," Kate finished. She put her arms around him and he returned the hug. They stood there for a long moment. "It's okay, Jack. We're going to get you through this. We'll do everything we can to get Chloe back safely. You can't do it alone. You have to give in and trust someone to help. I was completely betrayed by Steve Navarro but that doesn't mean that I won't trust anyone from the CIA again. There are a lot of good people in the CIA who can help us. I'll hand pick the team if that makes you feel better."

Jack broke away from the hug still unable to speak. He finally nodded briskly. "Okay, call in your friends."

James Heller and Mark Boudreau sat across from each other in the surgical waiting room. Neither had said anything in long time. Mark spoke first. "Jim," he said familiarly. It had become natural to call his father-in-law "Mr. President" in public or in front of others but they had been friends for a long time and he slipped back into the familiar when they were alone. Heller looked up waiting for Mark to continue. "I hate to bring this up, but someone has to talk to Jeff. It's 4:45. The drive out to the Prime Minister's country estate is over an hour under the best circumstances, but driving an armored limo over those country roads is going to take you closer to an hour and a half. And your detail needs at least 30 minutes notice to prep for the trip. I know how hard this is for you, but," he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "it would be a lot better coming from you than from me. Like you said, there's no real bond between Jeff and me."

Heller sighed. "I know. It's my responsibility. I told the security detail that I'd be there before 7. I've been putting it off for the last half hour. I keep thinking that the surgeon will come out with some news." The aging president stood and walked over to look out the window at the still-dark London skyline. "This has been the longest night of my life. I honestly can't remember a longer one. The last time I paced a hospital waiting room all night was the night Audrey was born." He smiled at the memory. "That was before fathers went into the delivery room. So I paced and I worried and I wondered if my wife was in pain and if the baby was alright. I was so grateful when that doctor came out and smiled at me. I forgot that I wanted a son. I had a healthy baby girl and my wife was safe. Nothing else mattered."

"Maybe you'll get good news tonight, too," Mark said gently. He watched as Heller went to the waiting room door and conferred with his security detail. The man normally looked years younger than his actual age. That was one of the reasons that his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease was so hard to accept, but tonight was different. Tonight James Heller seemed to have aged ten years right before Mark's eyes and the thing that hurt the most was that Mark knew that he was responsible.

Eric Ritter left the CIA station after a 22 hour shift. He didn't think he'd ever been this happy to leave the building before. After signing out to his replacement, he got in his car and headed to his London flat. There was nothing he hated more than trying to sleep when it was light outside, but today he didn't really care. He was so dog tired that it was an effort to drive the few miles home. All he could think about was a shower and his bed.

He had just stepped into his flat when his phone rang. The caller ID said that it was Kate. _That's funny_, he thought. _Kate left the station over an hour ago. She should be home and in bed. Why would she be calling me on my personal cell? _Kate and Eric worked well together but they had never been friends outside of work. He immediately had a bad feeling about this call and he answered it with some trepidation. "Hi, Kate. What's up?"

"Eric, are you still at the station?"

"No, I just got home. What's going on, Kate?" he asked.

"I have a situation and I need some help, but I'd prefer if this were off the grid."

"Off the grid? I'm going to ask you again, Kate: What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk on the phone. It's not secure. Can you meet me?"

"Kate, I'm exhausted. I've been up over 24 hours. You're going to have to give me more than that for me to leave my house."

"I can't, Eric. You've got to trust me. I'll text you the address. Make sure you're armed," Kate instructed.

"Yeah, like I'd show up for something like this without a gun!" Eric sighed heavily. "Alright. Text the address. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Ritter leaned heavily against the wall behind him. How could he refuse Kate? He had treated her badly early in the day. He felt terrible about it when he found out that Navarro had set her husband up. On top of that, he knew that Kate felt responsible for Audrey. If she died, Kate was going to take it hard. So as much as he didn't really want to get involved in some crazy, off the books operation, he felt like he had to. He had a nagging feeling in the back of his brain that Jack Bauer was involved in this. That made him really nervous. He was willing to admit that Bauer was a hero, but his unconventional methods scared the by-the-book Ritter.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

President Heller sat in the back of his limousine and stared out the window at the English countryside. As much as he loved London, he could see why Alistair owned the property in the country. It was a wonderful escape from the bustle of the city. It sounded, trite but the air smelled sweeter and the pace of life seemed slower. Just negotiating the turns in the road required you to slow down. Heller wished that he could enjoy the view, but he simply couldn't. His mind was too preoccupied with what he was going to say to his grandson. He called Mark as they were approaching the estate to see if there was any update on Audrey. No, Mark told him. She was still in surgery. Heller looked at his watch. It was 6:45. She had been in surgery over three hours.

One of his Secret Service detail sprang from the front seat as the limo pulled to a stop. He stood motionless for a moment scanning the immediate area for threats. Agents from the lead car were already out of their car doing the same thing. Once they were comfortable with their threat assessment, one of the agents opened the door for the president. As he turned toward the house, the front door opened and Alistair Davies stepped out.

"Alistair," Heller said extending his hand. "I didn't know you'd be here."

"I came out late last night. I knew someone was going to have to talk to your grandson about his mother. I didn't know if you or Mark would be able to get away."

"You're a good friend, Alistair. I appreciate you thinking about Jeff."

"I'm so terribly sorry about all of this, James. How is Audrey?"

"She's in surgery again, has been for the last three hours." Heller shook his head. "I don't know what I'm going to say to Jeff. How do you tell an eleven year old that his only parent may die?"

Alistair looked confused. "But Mark…"

"Mark's not his father. He's Jeff's stepfather. It's complicated, but Jeff's father has never really been in the picture. That's my fault," Heller added hastily. "I had my reasons. I didn't approve. So I encouraged Audrey to keep him out of Jeff's life. It was a mistake that I'm afraid I'm going to regret forever."

Just about then the three adolescent boys' voices could be heard in the upstairs hallway. "Let's get some breakfast and then we can go out and play football," called Philip, Alistair Davies' twelve year old grandson.

"Can I be keeper first?" Jeff asked. He followed the slightly older boy as they bolted down the stairs.

"I get to be keeper after you, Jeff," nine year old Harry shouted. He was the youngest of the boys but had inherited his grandfather's tall stature and he stood as tall as his older brother and his friend.

The three stopped at the bottom of the stairs seeing their grandfathers standing in the entrance hall.

"Gramps! What are you doing here?" Jeff said. "We aren't going home today, are we?" he asked looking unhappy when he thought he would have to leave his friends. "The next time Prime Minister Davies comes to the US, can Phil and Harry come, too? I want to show them the White House and Camp David."

Not sure how to begin, Heller said nothing as he collected his thoughts. Jeff waited for a response. He knew that recently his grandfather had sometimes been slow to respond or forgetful. His mother said that it was the stress of being president and that he needed to be patient with his grandfather.

Alistair spoke first. "Philip, Harry, come with me, please."

The three boys looked at each other. "Did we do something wrong?" Harry asked.

"Not at all," Alistair said with a serious look on his face. "We need to give President Heller and Jeff some time alone."

"Time alone?" Jeff asked. "Gramps, is something wrong?"

"James, you can use my study," Alistair said pointing to a dark paneled room off of the entrance.

"Thank you, Alistair," Heller said quietly.

Jeff eyes his grandfather warily, astute enough, even at his young age, to know that something wasn't right. They moved into the study and Heller closed the door. He watched his grandson take a solid stance in front of him. It was at moments like this that his resemblance to Jack was most pronounced. He had his father's square frame. His jaw tightened anxiously and his eyes narrowed. Heller put his arm around Jeff's shoulders and guided him to the seat in front of the bay window. They both sat down in the sun.

"Sport, we need to talk," James Heller said quietly.

Jeff's lip quivered as if he already had a sense of what his grandfather was going to say. "It's Mom, isn't it? Something happened to Mom."

Heller nodded and then explained a sanitized version of what had happened. In the process he left out any reference to Jack. He knew that Audrey had told Jeff about his father and had always done so in a way to keep Jack in the best possible light without implicating either Jim or Mark as the reasons that Jack was not part of the child's life. Simply put, she told Jeff that Jack was a covert agent (true) and that he, for reasons of his own, had gone dark several years earlier (only partially true). She never mentioned that Jack was labeled a terrorist by James Heller's State Department. That was something she would have to work out later. So, with Jack's future completely uncertain at the moment, Heller thought it best to keep his role in the events of the day quiet.

Jeff dressed quickly and grandfather and grandson got in the limo to head back to London. Heller did his best to maintain the boy's spirits but to little avail. Jeff was devastated and it broke his grandfather's heart. They were nearly back in London before Jeff was willing to speak aloud the fear that Heller knew was nagging at the child the most. "Gramps," he said softly. "If Mom… If my Mom," he swallowed hard. "If the doctors can't save Mom, can I live with you?"

Knowing that there were too many variables at this point to even speculate, Heller again thought it best to make Jeff feel safe. "Of course you can, Sport," he said putting his arm around Jeff and pulling him close. "But right now, your mother is alive. We don't need to make any plans other than ones that include her."

"Can you pull up those schematics again?" Eric Ritter asked Kate.

The two were huddled at a makeshift table staring at Kate's laptop. Several feet away, Jack and Belcheck were doing the same thing. Ritter had arrived less than an hour after Kate called him. He walked in carrying a 12-cup box of coffee from Starbuck's which was rapidly being consumed to keep everyone awake for this critical planning session. They had divided up the work. Since their best guess was that the Russians would try to take Jack out through one of two airports, they were putting together plans in order to rescue Jack at both sites. If they were wrong about the mode of egress from the UK, they were, simply put, screwed.

Kate and Eric were devising a plan to cover Southend Airport. Since it was possible to land a helicopter at that site and put Jack on a plane without ever walking into the terminal, it was going to be harder to defend. They had enough CIA contacts that they could put together a larger strike force than Jack and Belcheck could. Eric quickly culled a short list of eight possible CIA field agents who they could trust and who would be willing to participate in an off the books operation. They needed at least six of the eight to agree in order to make the plan work. He would begin calling them shortly after dawn.

In the meantime, Jack and Belcheck were planning to use their four contacts to cover Stansted. While it was the larger of the two airports, covering it would be easier. Since the chopper couldn't land there, the Russians would have to use ground transportation and walk through the terminal. They weren't going to want to create a scene in a busy airport at midday. The Russian security detail would be minimally armed and hoping to use speed and stealth to get Jack through the airport with the other diplomats. Although their diplomatic status would allow them to avoid most of the security issues and keep them largely away from the other airport patrons, they still had to walk from the airport entrance to their private gate. That was a long enough distance for the team to stop them and get Jack. It was still going to be difficult to execute with only four team members, so they decided that Belcheck would drive to the airport immediately after picking up Chloe in order to be the fifth team member. Chloe would provide monitoring and support to both teams.

The plans were coming together well and even Jack had to admit that he liked their chances. Now he just wished that he would hear something about Audrey. He couldn't decide if the length of the surgery was good or bad. If she was in surgery at least she was still alive.

xxxXXXxxx

The presidential limousine pulled up in front of the CIA station and, after waiting for the Secret Service agent to open the door, President Heller and his grandson emerged and hurried into the building. The President led the way to the medical unit.

"Anything?" he asked Mark tersely as he and his grandson entered the waiting room.

Mark nodded. "I was about to call you. A nurse came out just a minute ago. She said they're finishing up. The doctor will be out to talk to us soon."

"Does that mean my mom's gonna be okay?" Jeff asked anxiously, looking to his grandfather for support.

"I hope so, Sport," Heller said. Again he pulled the boy into his arms. "Let's sit down."

It was another ten minutes before the surgeon came into the room. Three pairs of eyes looked up expectantly.

"Give us some good news, doctor," the President told him.

The doctor smiled slightly. "Your daughter's a fighter, Mr. President. I guess she comes by that honorably."

"Is she going to be alright?" Heller asked.

The doctor looked at Jeff and seemed to weigh his words before speaking. "Right now all I can tell you is that she came through the surgery. She was bleeding from multiple sites. That bullet made a mess, but once we got the major bleeding controlled, she stabilized. That gave us a lot of time to explore and find a couple of other small nicks that would have eventually caused enough trouble to require more surgery. At this point, I think we've found and corrected all of the damage. Now it's a matter of waiting for her to recover. She's had a huge shock to her body. It's going to test all of her organ systems. If any system starts to fail, I'm not sure she's got enough left to fight it. She's young and healthy, so that's in her favor. The next 48 hours is critical."

"Can we see her?" Heller asked.

"They're getting her settled again in the ICU. Once that's done, the nurse will be out to get you. Let me know if you have more questions. I'm sorry that I couldn't have brought you better news." With that, the doctor stood and left the room.

The three sat motionless and silent for several seconds before Jeff got up and moved to a secluded chair near the corner of the waiting room. _So like your father_, Jim Heller thought. He had noticed this behavior before. Generally affable and fun loving like his mother, when faced with adversity or punishment, Jeff became quiet and withdrawn, preferring to deal with it on his own terms. Audrey had recognized it early and had been good at giving him the space he needed. Heller, on the other hand, had never been comfortable with it. He wondered now if it was the actual behavior that bothered him or the fact that it reminded him of Jack and it prevented him from denying Jeff's parentage.

A ringing phone brought Heller out of his reverie. Both Jim and Mark looked at the President's phone which sat on a coffee table in front of them. They saw Kate's name on the caller ID. Jim answered and was surprised when he heard Jack's quiet voice.

"Mr. President, do you have an update?" Heller stood immediately and began to pace. That allowed him to get the phone some distance from Mark. They were sitting so close that he was afraid Mark might be able to tell that it wasn't a woman on the other end of the phone.

"Thank you for calling, Agent Morgan," Jim said formally. He knew that Jack would understand by his greeting that he wasn't completely free to talk. "The doctor just came out and spoke with my son-in-law and my grandson and me. Audrey made it through the surgery. They're moving her to intensive care again. He said that it's going to be a rough couple of days. We just have to keep praying."

"How's Jeff taking this? Is he doing ok?"

"About as well as could be expected," Heller said, unable to elaborate further. "Are you planning to stop by later?"

"We have a solid plan, Sir. It's not foolproof, but it's solid. I hope to be in touch with you again in a few hours." Jack paused for a moment. "If not, Sir, it's been an honor serving you. Please give Audrey and Jeff my love. If Audrey doesn't make it, I understand that you'll have difficult decisions to make with regards to Jeff's future. I would hope that you'd consider my daughter as an appropriate guardian for him if you reach a point where you aren't able to care for him. She's his half-sister and I know she'd take the responsibility seriously. She's a good mother, Sir, just like my wife was. I've watched her and my son-in-law with their daughter. They're wonderful parents."

"I'll take it under consideration. Right now, I'll just plan on seeing you in a few hours." Heller put the phone in his pocket and glanced over at Mark to see if the phone all raised any suspicions with him.

Mark looked at Heller. "Does Agent Morgan seem a little over interested in Audrey's condition? She's called you more than once. She only met Audrey a few hours ago."

Heller shrugged, keeping his expression neutral. "I think she feels guilty. She feels like she didn't do enough to protect Audrey. She also feels that she let Jack down. He trusted her to rescue Audrey and, in her mind, she failed that task."

"Speaking of Bauer, where is he?" Mark asked, lowering his voice so that Jeff couldn't hear. "Under the circumstances, I would think he would want to be here."

Again, Heller kept a neutral expression. "He's still doing mop up from taking down Cheng," he said. That explanation wasn't going to hold water and he knew it. Even with everything that would happen after the CIA and MI6 boarded the Russian vessel and took control of the situation, there wouldn't be any reason for Jack to be there this many hours later. While the CIA would have a presence on the ship for several days. Jack would have been finished after a few hours. He decided that he would have to add some details to make the excuse sound reasonable. Now Heller lowered his own voice to a whisper. "I ordered Jack to kill Cheng and make it look like self-defense. He's going to have to answer a lot of questions before he's free to leave."

"He doesn't have to answer any questions," Mark scoffed. He quite obviously wasn't convinced by the story. "You already gave him a pardon. He's got a 'get out of jail free' card. All you have to do is say the word and the CIA lets him walk."

Heller continued seamlessly. _I'm a politician. If I can't spin a good lie, what good am I?_ he thought. "If I go to bat for him, it's as good as saying that Jack killed Cheng in cold blood."

"Which he did," Mark pointed out.

"Yes, but he only did it on my orders. The President of the United States can't come out and say that he ordered an operative to kill someone who was no longer a threat. Even if Jack admits that to the CIA, it will get leaked to the press. It will be on CNN in hours as a breaking story. Jack has to give the CIA every reason to believe whatever tale he concocts. I'll back him up in whatever it is, but we need plausible deniability."

Mark seemed to accept that. "When are you going to tell _him_?" He tilted his head in Jeff's general direction.

"I'm not sure. This all needs to sink in first. When Jack's finished with what he's doing, he and I will decide how to handle it. Until then, let's keep quiet about it." Heller stood to indicate that the conversation was over. For a long moment he watched Jeff who was staring down at the carpet. He approached his grandson. "How you doing, Sport?"

The child shrugged. "Okay."

"Do you want to talk?"

"Not really," Jeff said, but his tone wasn't convincing so the older man sat down next to him and waited. He wasn't disappointed. "I just can't imagine living without her," Jeff said quietly.

"Don't try," his grandfather advised him. "You're getting ahead of yourself, Sport. If it comes to that, then you'll have to deal with it. Right now, your mother is alive. Until someone tells me different, I'm not even going to consider the alternative."

xxxXXXxxx

It was a few minutes until 11 when Jack rounded the curve and approached the exchange site. Belcheck sat next to him. Their teams were already in place at the two airports and they had successfully tested the comm system. Jack brought the car to a halt and got out. Belcheck did the same bringing his weapon with him. They surveyed the rooftops and continued to move forward. Jack was tense and Belcheck could sense it.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Belcheck asked.

"Yeah," Jack answered quietly. He took a solid stance as he stared at the Russians. He could see Chloe behind the tinted windscreen on the chopper. "She walks first," he shouted.

The Russian in charge didn't look happy about it, but he indicated to his men to let Chloe walk toward Jack.

"Jack you don't have to do this," Chloe told him as their paths crossed.

After a quick exchange he squeezed her hand reassuringly and moved toward the helicopter. Chloe looked back more than once, but continued on toward Belcheck who stood grim-faced, his gun aimed at the Russian's head. "Go to the car," he told Chloe, but she hesitated. "Go!" This time she responded and turned to the car. Belcheck followed and got in the driver's seat. They watched as the helicopter took off.

"How could you let him do this? We can't just let the Russians take him away. They'll kill him!" Chloe cried.

Belcheck didn't reply as he pulled away from the site. Once they were out of view of the snipers, he turned to Chloe. "There's a computer in the backseat. Get it," he told her. He then slipped a comm unit into his ear and handed one to her. "The bird's in the air," he said to the team. "Chloe, we need to track that chopper." Belcheck drove as Chloe tapped frantically on the keys. "We've got teams at Stansted and Southend Airports. Which way are they going?"

"I've got them on satellite," Chloe said. "Wait, this doesn't make any sense. They're not going toward either airport."

"Where are they going, Chloe?" Kate asked.

"Based on the current heading, they're going back toward London. Let me superimpose the vector heading over a city map." Again the silence was punctuated only by keyboard clicks. "They're headed straight for the Russian Embassy."

"Why would they do that?" Eric mused. "The embassy is over an hour from both airports."

"Maybe they want to interrogate Jack here in London," one of the agents proposed.

"That's possible, but why would they use the embassy. There are too many people there. It's not a controlled environment. There are a lot more private places to use," Kate said. "Chloe, has the vector heading stayed the same?"

"Yes, they're on course for the embassy."

"What's their ETA?" Eric asked.

"At the current airspeed, 15 minutes," Chloe answered.

"Chloe, can you pull up the schematics for the Russian embassy?" Kate asked.

"I can try," Chloe answered. "What are you looking for?"

"I don't believe that they plan to keep Jack at the embassy for very long. Someone is going to recognize him there. We need to figure out how they're going to get him out," Kate explained.

"Kate," Chloe said. "I have a copy of the official schematics of the Russian embassy."

"Official?" Kate queried.

"Yeah, these are the ones that were submitted to the British government. That doesn't mean that the Russians built the embassy exactly like they said they would."

"What are you suggesting, Chloe?" Kate asked her.

"Sometimes foreign governments submit plans for their embassies and then build them a little different. Based on this schematic, there are several exits from the embassy, but they are all visible from one street angle or another. I'm wondering if there might be a hidden exit somewhere."

"If it's not on the schematic, how do you plan to find it?" Eric asked with more than a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Chloe snapped back at him. "There's no way to actually find it. The best I can do is look on the schematic for possibilities."

"So you'd be guessing," Eric pointed out not so subtly.

"It's an educated guess," Chloe shot back at him. "Do you have anything better? Because right now Jack is facing torture and death unless we can help him."

Kate decided to stop the pissing contest between Eric and Chloe before it escalated. "Chloe, do you any areas that look suspicious?"

"Actually, yes. If you superimpose the schematics of the embassy on top of a map of the Underground, there's a maintenance tunnel that runs about 50 yards north of the embassy. They could have easily dug a tunnel from the embassy grounds that connects with the maintenance tunnel. That would give them access to the Underground without ever going up to street level."

Eric spoke again, "Okay, so they take Jack into the embassy, disguise him and then take him through the tunnel to the Underground. Where do they go from there?"

"I don't think we worry about where they're going. I think we need to stop them before they board the Underground," Kate said.

"We're an hour away! They could have Jack out of the embassy and onto a train before we can get back to London," Eric reminded her.

"For heaven's sake!" Chloe shouted. "Don't you two have CIA credentials? Commandeer a helicopter and come back to the city."

"We don't exactly have permission to be here, Chloe. This operation isn't on the books," Kate explained.

"Then get permission!" Chloe shouted, her patience having long since run out. She was used to working with Jack. The word "permission" wasn't one he put a lot of stock in. "Or better yet, don't waste time with permission. Take the helicopter now and we'll get it straightened out later. It's either that or Jack's going to end up in Moscow."

"Chloe's right," Belcheck agreed. "Getting you back into the city is our only hope. My team is further away than yours. I have no way to get them back in time."

"Wait a minute," Kate said. "My phone's ringing. It's the Secret Service. I'll patch everyone in." The line was quiet for a few seconds before a click told everyone on comm that they were hearing the call. "This is Agent Morgan," she said.

"It's Michelson with the President's security detail." Kate recognized his voice as the agent she spoke to outside of the waiting room. She realized that until now she didn't even know his name. "We've got a problem."

Kate rolled her eyes. She didn't need another problem. "What's going on?"

"The detail I sent to monitor Bauer's daughter just called me. They've got some activity in her neighborhood that's concerning them. It's 3:15am in LA and the street is quiet except for a black SUV that has driven along her block twice in the last hour."

"It sounds like the Russians have someone keeping an eye on her," Kate mused.

"That's our assessment," Michelson told her. "What do you want us to do? We can lay low and continue to monitor or we can let them know that we're here."

"I think you better lay low," Kate told them. "They're probably checking in on a regular basis with someone here in London. If they don't check in or if they figure out they've been made and pass that on to their London contacts, Jack's abductors are going to know that he went against their orders and got outside help. At that point, they're going to kill him. Just keep monitoring. If you think Bauer's daughter or any of her family are in immediate danger, do what you have to do and let me know immediately."

"I'll keep you posted," Michelson said and then clicked off.

Kate spoke first. "The Russians are taking this more seriously than I thought. We'll get a chopper and get back. In the meantime, Chloe, figure out the closest Underground station to that maintenance tunnel and then find us the closest landing site."

"I've got two stations equidistant. As soon as I've got a landing site, I'll send all the coordinates to your phone."

"Chloe and I will head into London and rendezvous with you at the landing site," Belcheck said.

"We'll see you there," Kate replied.

xxxXXXxxx

Jack looked out as the helicopter flew away from the exchange site. It was a minute or two before it struck him that the view seemed wrong. He glanced over the pilot's shoulder and noted the heading. No, this was definitely wrong. His heart sank as he realized that they weren't headed for an airport. Based on the current heading he wasn't sure where they were going but he knew for sure that they were heading away from the teams who were waiting to help him.

He closed his eyes for a moment to gather this thoughts. Giving himself up for Chloe's safety had always been his plan, so frankly, none of this scared him. He was just angry with himself for allowing Kate and Belcheck to get his hopes up. He was sorry that he had allowed himself to think about going back to the States and living a life that included his daughter and grandchildren and now, also a son. And maybe even Audrey.

Jack opened his eyes abruptly and brought himself back into the present. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't help the situation. The last time he felt sorry for himself was after Teri's murder and look where that got him: 18 wasted months. Time he could have spent with his daughter. They could have bonded and healed together. Instead he drove a wedge between them that took a long time to resolve. He vowed after that to never feel sorry for himself again and he wasn't going to start now. Jack knew that a few hundred feet below him, his team was already looking for a solution for this problem. In addition to his own well-known ability to escape the inescapable, he had a stellar team working to bring him back unharmed. He almost smiled as he thought about how they would be scrambling right now to salvage the mission. He had to trust himself and he had to trust his team. Taking a deep breath, Jack relaxed into the seat. He was tired and needed some rest, but for now he would stay awake and alert. He needed all of his faculties intact if he was going to make it out of this alive and still not end up in Moscow. He gazed out at the blue sky and thought of Audrey. _Hang in there, Sweetheart. I'm coming home to you. I promise._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By 11:30, Chloe confirmed that the helicopter carrying Jack Bauer had landed on the grounds of the Russian embassy. At the same time, Kate and Eric and their tac team were on their way back to the city in a "borrowed" chopper. In order to avoid having to take a helicopter by force, Eric called a contact in MI6 and asked for help. With all that had happened the previous day, the British operative didn't ask many questions. He just made a phone call and, the next thing he knew, Eric was piloting the helicopter toward London.

Chloe found a landing site for the chopper and she and Belcheck were on their way to pick up the team. She had determined that if there really was a tunnel connecting the Russian embassy compound with a maintenance tunnel at the Underground, it would empty out about equidistant between the Queensway and Notting Hill Gate stations. Once they picked up Eric, Kate and their team, they would drop half of them off at each station.

While Belcheck drove, Chloe tried desperately to hack into the security camera system at the Russian embassy so that they would have visual on Jack, but despite using every trick she knew, she couldn't get past their firewall. "These guys are good," she mused with a pout. She had far more luck with the security cameras in the Underground and was online with them in just a couple of minutes. Once that was set up, she resumed monitoring satellite images of the exterior of the embassy compound. She needed to monitor any vehicle or pedestrian traffic out of the compound in case they were moving Jack via a street exit. The many images crossing her computer were keeping Chloe's tired brain in constant motion. It was all that was keeping her awake. Maybe that wasn't entirely true. The anxiety and guilt over Jack's current predicament was weighing heavily on her.

Chloe sighed quietly and looked over at Belcheck. He wasn't a great conversationalist. But then again, neither was she. She decided to break the ice. "So, Jack is the father of Audrey Boudreau's son." It was somewhere between a statement and a question.

Belcheck's expression seemed to soften. "Apparently so," he said succinctly.

"How's Jack taking the news?"

Belcheck shrugged. "It's hard to say. I think he was happy about it. It was the only reason he agreed to this mission. His plan was just to exchange himself for you and try and figure out how to escape the Russians later. When he found out that he had a son and that Audrey might die, he agreed to the plan."

"Does anyone know how Audrey is?"

"Jack called Heller a couple of hours ago. She was out of surgery but she's still critical."

They were both silent for a long moment. Chloe watched the urban scenery pass by. "I think she's the only woman he ever really loved. I didn't know him when he was married, but from things I've heard, they had a lot of problems. After his wife died, he dated some other women, but he really fell for Audrey."

"He doesn't talk about his personal life, but I can tell he's got a soft spot for her. Ever since Heller ran for president, he watched any video he could find that Audrey was in," Belcheck noted. "He's a good man. He's spent the last few years helping people who couldn't help themselves with no regard for his own safety. He saved my life. Now I want to give him his life back. He doesn't talk about her, but I know he misses his daughter and grandchildren. I want to give him a chance to go home to Kim and spend his life with Audrey and his son."

"I'm sure Mark Boudreau will have something to say about that last part," Chloe scoffed.

Belcheck shook his head. "If Boudreau has any sense at all, he'll disappear forever. He can thank Jack that he's not under arrest right now." He glanced over to see Chloe's puzzled look and took a moment to fill her in. "So, I wouldn't expect Boudreau to give Jack and Audrey a hard time. If he does, Jack just tells Heller that he wants Boudreau charged with treason. From what I can see, Heller will do whatever Jack wants right now."

xxxXXXxxx

Jack stepped out of the helicopter on the grounds of the Russian embassy. He immediately began to scan the area. It was an impressive compound but he wasn't taking in the view. He was already looking for an escape route. He tried to do it unobtrusively, but the Russians quickly realized what he was doing and pushed him toward the entrance. "This way, Mr. Bauer," one of them said mocking him in a cordial tone.

Jack continued forward, biding his time. He was taken into a rear door of the embassy and into a deserted corridor. It was a private section of the building that probably served as the guest quarters of any visiting dignitaries. "In here," the same mocking voice said, indicating a room on the left. It was a comfortable looking bedroom. Jack looked at the bed longingly but knew he wasn't going to get to sleep there. A change of clothes, business casual, lay across the end of the bed.

"Change into these," the big Russian said. "We can't have you looking like a bum. You need to look like a respectable businessman. There's a bathroom over there," the Russian gestured to a door within the suite. "Shave and clean up. Don't try anything stupid, Mr. Bauer, my men will be watching you."

Jack didn't hesitate. There was no point in prolonging this. The faster he did what they asked the sooner they would move him out of the embassy. Transferring a prisoner was always the most vulnerable part of any plan. That was where he had the most likely chance of escape.

Jack stepped out of the suite 20 minutes later clean, shaved and dressed in an expensive pair of charcoal trousers, mock turtleneck sweater and wool tweed jacket that conveniently fit nicely. (Obviously the Russians were waiting for him and had done their homework in order to have clothes on hand that were close to, if not exactly, his size.) He had to admit that despite his circumstances, he both looked and felt quite good. If he just had something to eat, this would almost be tolerable. He didn't mean to be making light of the situation, but he'd been in stickier ones. At the moment, he wasn't sure how he was going to get away but he liked his chances. The guards he had seen were big but out of shape and didn't appear to be particularly disciplined. He probably weighed 30 to 40 pounds less than either of them, but he suspected that they wouldn't be hard to take out. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the right moment.

For now, Jack followed his captors' instructions. He knew the drill. It was better to go along and lull them into a false sense of security; let them think he wasn't going to try and escape. The two guard walked behind him. Another man, clearly the one in charge, walked in front. He was trimmer than either of the guard and about the same height as Jack. The stepped into an elevator and stood silently while it descended. Jack could tell by the time it took to reach a stop that they were in a subterranean level. The embassy was only three stories tall and they started on the second story. Based on the time and the approximate speed of the elevator, they were at least two stories below street level. He knew immediately that they must have a tunnel below the embassy compound to smuggle contraband, be it people or things, into the embassy and out of the watchful eye of British security.

From the elevator, they walked down a dimly lit hallway that smelled damp and musty. It snaked along a couple hundred feet before they reached a heavily fortified door. Keys jangled as multiple locks clicked and the door was opened. They continued down another dimly lit hallway. This one had cement walls and floor. Jack could hear distant noise and knew that they were in some kind of an access tunnel in the London Underground. He smiled in the semi darkness. As escapes go, would one should be easy. It was midday and the trains and stations would be relatively crowded. The Russians couldn't risk making too much of a scene and they certainly couldn't fire their weapons.

Jack could see light ahead and guessed that they were approaching a maintenance tunnel. Just before they stepped into the tunnel, which Jack could see was empty, the man in front of him stopped and pulled out a phone. He held it in front of Jack. "I need to show you something."

Jack looked at the image and it chilled him to the bone. It was taken from a distance and had been enlarged which left it grainy but still recognizable. It showed Kim standing in front of her house with her son, the one Jack had never seen before, toddling in front of her. Little Teri, who was four years older than the last time Jack had seen her, was riding a bicycle in the driveway. Kim was laughing, her hand resting on her swollen belly. She looked to be at least seven months pregnant and Jack was struck by how happy she looked. She had no idea that she was being photographed from afar.

The Russian flicked his finger across the phone's screen and a new image appeared. This one was grainier than the first and looked to have been taken using night vision technology. It was Kim's house. The time stamp told him that it was taken within the last few minutes. It was still dark in LA and, other than porch lights, which shone too bright in the picture, there were no lights on in the house.

"You son-of-a-bitch! Keep your hands off my daughter and her family or I will kill you in the most miserable way possible," Jack hissed.

"Kim is safe," the Russian told him. "As long as you cooperate, she'll never know that we were watching her, but if you try and escape… Well, I don't have to tell you how unpleasant my people can make her life."

Jack knew that Secret Service was keeping an eye on Kim, but he didn't know whether or not they had spotted the Russians. He couldn't take the chance. He had to cooperate and he wished that he had a way to communicate with Kate and Belcheck to tell them to back off. He simply would not risk Kim or her family, no matter how much he wanted to get back to Audrey and Jeff. He breathed deeply and swallowed hard. He would accept his fate if it meant that Kim and her children were safe. _I'm sorry, Audrey. I failed you, Sweetheart_.

xxxXXXxxx

Kate spotted the Russians exiting the maintenance tunnel before anyone else. "They're on the move," she said quietly into her comm unit. "There is a guard in front of Jack and two behind."

"I see them," Eric said. "Chloe, check the monitors. Do they have anybody else coming up behind them?"

"Negative, Eric. Unless they have someone posted on the platform, it's just the three guards and Jack. There's no back up," Chloe told him.

"Good," Eric replied. "I need Williams and Hardy to start moving in my direction. You need to create a diversion. Wait for my order."

"Got it," Hardy answered. He quickly outlined a plan.

"Sounds good. Get into position. Remember, we don't have any backup, so we've got one shot at this. Kate, tell Secret Service to have their LA team stand by. Once we move, the Russians are going to give the order to move on Bauer's daughter. They need to get to the hostiles immediately. These guys are ruthless. They aren't going to hesitate to hurt Bauer's family."

The team fell into a tense silence waiting for Eric's instructions. "Does everyone have eyes on the target?" Ritter asked. A chorus of affirmative responses sounded in his comm unit. "Let the Russians get further out onto the platform. Kate, I need you and Stevens to work your way behind the target. Hardy and Williams, you're up."

Williams strolled leisurely up the platform toward the Russians, phone is hand, looking like he was sending a text. Hardy ran up behind him, grabbed the phone and kept running. "Hey!" Williams yelled as he started to give chase. "He took my phone! Stop him! The guy in the green jacket – get him!"

Ritter darted out from his position to Hardy's left, forcing Hardy to change course so he was heading right for the Russian in front of Jack. Hardy hit him low and took out his legs. At the same time Ritter took out one of the Russians behind Jack and Stevens came up from behind the third Russian and pressed his gun into the man's right kidney. "Don't move," he warned the man.

"No! Stop!" Jack shouted, nearly hysterical. "They're at my daughter's house! Let me go with them. I don't want her hurt. Just let me go with them."

"Jack, it's okay," Kate told him. "Secret Service moved in about a minute ago. I should have confirmation that they've got the hostiles soon. Calm down. It's okay."

"Get Secret Service on the phone now!" Jack continued to shout.

Kate handed Jack an earpiece so that he could hear the conversion over the comm unit. "Michelson, can you give me a status report on your LA team?"

"Affirmative, Agent Morgan, my men have detained four Russian nationals in two cars outside of the target's house. They were picked up without incident. They're not talking, but I guess that isn't a surprise. The hostiles didn't make any contact with the residents. The team had bomb sniffing dogs run the perimeter of the house. We also scanned for toxins and radiation. Everything came back negative. The Russians didn't have time for any sophisticated set up. I think if Bauer had given them any trouble, they would have stormed the house and terrorized the family. The cars contained Tasers and small caliber weapons. There were no detonators or anything to suggest that this is a high tech operation. My men will continue to watch the house for the next few hours but I don't think there's going to be a problem. At this point, if they hurt Bauer's family, President Heller would turn it into an international incident and the Russians know that."

"I agree," Kate said. "Just keep us posted if anything changes."

"Will do," Michelson said. "Mr. Bauer, do you want my men to let your daughter know that we're watching the house?"

"Negative, Agent Michelson. I don't want them to scare her. Have them stay invisible," Jack said. "And thank you. I know this is outside of your jurisdiction and I appreciate you going out on a limb for me." Jack then turned to Kate. "Where's Chloe? Is she safe? Is she okay?"

"Jack, I'm fine," Chloe said into her comm unit.

Jack allowed himself to smile when he heard her voice. "It worked," he whispered in disbelief. "It worked. Chloe's safe. Kim and her family are safe. I can't believe you made this work," he said smiling at Kate.

Kate smiled back. "Now we just need to get you back to Audrey and your son." She handed Jack her phone. "Here. Call President Heller and give him the good news."

He took the phone. It was answered on the first ring. "Mr. President," he said in a quiet, businesslike voice. "It's over. We have Chloe O'Brian and she's fine. Is there any update on Audrey?"

"Not really. They've got her in a medically induced coma and she's on a ventilator. The doctor said they'll do that for the next 24 hours and then make further treatment decisions from there. She's no worse, but she's no better. And you… Are you okay?" the President asked cautiously as he walked to a corner of the room as distant as possible from both Jeff and Mark.

"I'm fine, Sir. Right now our only problem is that we have three Russians in custody. We're going to need you to intervene with Prime Minister Davies. The operation wasn't sanctioned by the local authorities. Technically, we were out of our jurisdiction."

"I'll deal with Alistair," the President said. "Don't worry about that. When are you coming here?"

Jack paused for a long second. "We have some decisions to make, Sir."

"I can't think of any decisions to be made at the moment. Your place is here and I'd like you to be here."

"What about Jeff, Sir? Is he there with you?"

"Yes," Heller said. "That's why you should be here."

Jack sighed heavily. "Sir, Jeff has lived eleven years without a father. I can't just waltz in there and introduce myself. It's bad enough that his mother is in intensive care and he has to deal with that. If I show up, it's just going to confuse him."

"Let me talk to him. I think if I explain the situation he'll be fine. It might make him feel better. He's afraid of being left with no one."

"Alright. Talk to him and then get back to me. If he wants me there, that's where I want to be."

Heller disconnected from his call with Jack and dialed Ron Clark. "Ron, I need to talk to Prime Minister Davies as soon as possible. Can you get him on the line for me?" He paused a moment. "Yes, it's urgent. Thank you." Heller again disconnected and this time slipped the phone back in his pocket. He looked back and forth between his grandson and son-in-law, who had chosen to position themselves at opposite ends of the room. Internally he chastised himself yet again for encouraging a relationship between Audrey and Mark. His intentions had been good but, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. He sat down heavily trying to decide exactly what to say to Jeff.

Mark glanced over at him. "Agent Morgan?" he asked. He raised his eyebrows to tell Heller that he knew that wasn't the case.

Heller smiled slightly and shrugged. Mark stood and looked across the room at his stepson. For the first time that he could remember, he felt something for Jeff. It hurt to see the child so scared. Mark had never before given Jeff's state of mind any thought, but today he suddenly found himself wishing that he had developed some kind of bond with the boy that would allow him to comfort Jeff. Instead he walked over to his father-in-law, soon to be ex-father-in-law, he thought, and sat down.

"Look, I know that I'm not in any position to be included in classified operations," Mark said quietly, "but I have to assume that the reason Jack isn't here is that he's on some sort of mission."

"That's right," Heller said. "And the reason I've got him and Agent Morgan and whoever else they could recruit running an off the books operation is because, thanks to you, the Russians are back in play."

"We shut the Russians down," Mark said incredulously. "I risked my life to see to that."

"Don't get all self-righteous on me, Mark!" Heller said angrily, while continuing to keep his voice low. "You wouldn't have been risking your life if you hadn't sold your soul to the Russians. Anyway, the Russians grabbed Chloe O'Brian and offered to trade her for Jack. Our people managed to make the Russians give up Chloe and still keep Jack alive. I don't know the details and it's probably best that I don't but now I have to run clean up with Alistair." Just about then Heller's phone rang and he stood up and walked away. "Thank you for returning my call, Alistair," Heller said congenially, as if Davies had any choice but to return a call from the leader of the free world. "Thank you for asking. She's out of surgery, but the doctor said we won't know much for the next couple of days." The conversation continued in the hall where neither Mark nor Jeff could hear it, but Mark could tell by the vague smile on Jim's face when he returned that it had the desired results.

"Taken care of?" Mark asked, not knowing what else to say.

Heller nodded still glaring at his former chief of staff.

"I'm sorry that I put you in that position," Mark said, looking appropriately contrite. "It would probably be best if I went back to the presidential quarters before Jack gets here. I'll pack and return to The States if you like, but if it would be alright with you, I'd like to stay here in London for the next couple of days to see how Audrey is. I'm hoping that she might be alert enough by then for me to say goodbye to her. Then I'll go back to Washington and move my things out of our house. I'll be gone before she comes home. After that everything can be taken care of by our lawyers."

"She has to survive this next few days before any of that can happen," Heller hissed softly.

"I understand that," Mark conceded. "I just can't think that she won't. I can't let my mind go there. So the best thing for me to do is try and focus on the next few weeks and how to make Audrey's transition back to Washington as seamless as possible. To do that, I need to be gone from her life before she gets back."

James Heller said nothing but nodded slightly, his eyes downcast. He was sad that it had come to this. He watched as Mark stood and moved toward the door. "Could I get an update on her condition every few hours? You don't have to do it, but maybe the press secretary or Ron. I just want to know how she is. I'll be praying for her, Jim. I don't pray very often, but at this point, I don't know what else to do."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jack looked at his watch and paced behind the crime scene tape on the platform. London police had arrived quickly upon reports of a scuffle in the Underground and, to their surprise, were just as quickly dismissed from the scene by MI6 agents. It was all going as Jack expected but the process took time. It was nearly 2 o'clock and Jack knew that he had at least another hour of answering questions and waiting around before he and the rest of the group was free to go. He stood next to Kate and Eric. They were as bone-tired as he. Belcheck had taken off as soon as he was sure that Jack was safe. He was on British soil illegally and his presence was just going to create more questions than he or Jack wanted to answer. They both knew it was best for him to head back to Eastern Europe. They shook hands solemnly knowing this was likely the last time they would see each other.

"Go home to your family, my friend," Belcheck said almost reverently. "You deserve some peace."

"Thank you," Jack said in a hushed voice. "If you ever need anything…" he started.

"No," Belcheck said emphatically. "You have to leave this life behind for good. You can't step in and out of it every time someone needs your help. Go home, Jack. Be a father and a grandfather and a husband. You've earned it. You've served whatever sentence it is that you imposed on yourself, now go live your life. Don't let anyone drag you back in." Without another word, Belcheck disappeared into the crowd.

Kate walked toward Jack carrying a cup of coffee. He wasn't sure where she got it and he didn't care. It had caffeine in it and it was hot. The chill in the Underground had begun to get to him. While the clothes provided by the Russians were nice, they weren't quite heavy enough to ward off the damp chill that hung in the air. "Thanks," he said with a smile. "After this do we have to debrief at the CIA station?"

"Of course," Kate said, smiling back. "Eric said that MI6 will copy the CIA on the reports from the scene, so our debrief should be short. Then you can head to medical to see Audrey." Jack said nothing. "I know how worried you are, Jack. Try to relax. It sounds like she's past the worst of it."

"It's not just Audrey," Jack mused. "I'm worried about Jeff. How's he going to take this? I've been an absentee father for the last 11 years and now I show up and try to be a dad to him. I'm not sure how he's going to feel about that. I'm also going to have some explaining to do when I talk to my daughter."

"It's not like you intentionally stayed away from Jeff. You didn't know that he existed. Maybe that's hard for an 11 year old to understand, but you have to try. Even if he rejects you now, he might find that he needs a father later in life. Give him the chance to get to know you, then let him decide. It's all you can ask for. As for your daughter, she's an adult. You lay out the facts and hope she understands. When do you plan to talk to her?"

"As soon as we're done here. We should finish up by 3 o'clock. That's 7am in Los Angeles. She should be awake by then. That gives me an hour to figure out what I'm going to say to her."

Everyone continued answering questions until MI6 was sure that they had enough information. Prime Minister Davies had already told his agents that they could detain the Russians but that, ultimately, he intended to deal with this diplomatically. He told them in no uncertain terms that the tunnel from the embassy to the Underground was to be guarded around the clock until it could be permanently closed off. Once the Russians were led away Jack and the team of federal agents left the Underground and headed back to the CIA station.

When they arrived at the station at almost 3:30, Kate directed Jack into a room where he could take some time and talk to his daughter before he did his final debriefing. Jack dialed the number he had memorized four years before. Periodically he would mentally dial the number so that he didn't forget it. His heart nearly stopped when he heard her voice.

"Hello," Kim said, absently. Jack could hear a child fussing in the background.

"Kim, this is Dad." The sentence hung silently in the air. Jack heard an abrupt intake of air as Kim gasped. Then she spoke the two words he expected.

"Prove it," she said. Jack had taught her since she was a little girl that if he ever called unexpectedly or if she was unsure that it was really him, she had to make the caller prove that he was her father. The code that followed was preset and had changed over the years.

"9-18-93," Jack started without hesitation. "4-23-99-1-10-91-12-14-94-11-30-98-7-18-96." By the last number his voice was trembling.

"Daddy," Kim whispered and Jack could hear her begin to cry. She knew the seemingly random sequence of numbers. She ran through it daily just to make sure remembered it accurately. She had never told anyone about it, not even her husband. It was actually a series of dates that were only relevant to her and Jack. September 18, 1993 was the day she scored her first goal in a soccer game. April 23, 1999 was the day she finished her favorite book, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." January 10, 1991 was her first trip to Disneyland. December 12, 1994 was the day she lost her front baby teeth. November 30, 1998 was the day she and Jack went to see the movie "A Bug's Life." July 18, 1996 was the day she and Jack hiked from Griffith Observatory up to the Hollywood sign high above Los Angeles. All unimportant dates that no one but she and Jack would know. If even one digit was out of place she would know that it wasn't him, but every number came in just the right order, just the way she recited it to herself every day in the shower, as had become her routine. "Are you alright? Can you come home?"

"I'm coming home, baby," Jack cried. "I'm coming home. President Heller pardoned me. How are you? How's Teri?" He purposely didn't mention that he knew she had a son or that she was pregnant again. He didn't want her to know that anyone had been watching her or that the CIA still kept tabs on her.

"She's great, Dad! I can't wait for you to see her. She's so grown up. I just look at her and I can't believe that she's almost 7."

"I can't wait to see her," Jack said.

"We have a little boy, too, Dad and I'm having another baby in eight weeks. I hope you can be here. I want you to be here when he's born."

"I'll be there, baby. I promise. I won't miss it. I mean it, Kim. I'm coming home for good. I'm settling down. I don't know where yet, but I'll never be more than a few hours flight from you again. That's a promise, honey."

Jack and Kim both composed themselves. "This is a guess," Kim said, almost laughing. "But I bet you're in London."

Jack smiled. "I guess you saw the news yesterday."

"As soon as I heard about the attacks on London, I knew you were there. Then I heard a report that 'an unnamed former federal agent' was reactivated by President Heller and was instrumental in stopping the attack and saving the President's life. I didn't have to think too hard to figure out who the agent was. I'm so proud of you, Dad!"

"Don't be. I didn't do enough. Too many lives were lost yesterday…" his voice trailed off.

"Dad, I heard about Audrey. I'm so sorry. How's she doing?"

"She's been in surgery twice, but right now she's holding her own. Kim, there's something you need to know about Audrey and me," Jack started.

"I know, Dad."

"You know what?"

"You and Audrey have a son."

"How do you now that? I had no idea until yesterday."

"She keeps him out of the public eye, but at the inauguration, he stood next to her and held the bible while President Heller took the oath of office. I took one look at him and knew he was your son. He looks just like pictures of you at the same age. I didn't know exactly how old he was, but I could guess and count backwards. The timing seemed right."

Jack smiled. _The daughter of a spy doesn't miss much,_ he thought. He taught her to be observant and she was. "Listen, Sweetheart," he said gently. "I could talk to you for hours and I plan to, but right now I have to debrief. After that I'm hoping to see Audrey and maybe I'll get to meet Jeff. Give Stephen my best. Kiss the kids for me and tell them that Grandpa is coming home soon. I love you, Kim, with all my heart. I've missed you so much. I can't even begin to tell you how much it hurt to be away from you for the last four years."

"It's over now, Dad. I love you, too. I'll talk to you soon."

They disconnected and Jack held the phone near his heart as if that would keep the memory of Kim's voice and words alive in him until he could talk to her again. He sighed and left the room. He hoped to hear back from the President soon, but in the meantime, he would find Kate or Eric and debrief. After that it would be over. His years of fighting the good fight by whatever means necessary had taken a toll, but it had also made him understand what he wanted out of life. He knew that at the top of that list was spending the rest of his life as part of a loving family and he could finally see that desire taking shape on the horizon.

xxxXXXxxx

James Heller finished the crust of a cold sandwich. He had been awake a ridiculous number of hours and hadn't eaten since the reception with the Prime Minister that was over 24 hours earlier. Even now, he only ate because he had to. He didn't feel hungry, but he knew that a man his age could only run on empty for so long. So he ate the sandwich that was probably turkey, but in truth, he hadn't even thought about what he was eating, he just ate it mechanically. Jeff had taken a bite out of his sandwich and then set it down, uninterested in food. There was an unopened bag of chips next to him that he hadn't even touched.

In the hour and a half since Mark left, James and Jeff were allowed to see Audrey. Jeff thought it was probably the most awful thing he had ever done. His mother was just lying there with machines all around her. She didn't look like herself; she barely looked real. There was a tube in her throat attached to a ventilator that was keeping her breathing. He hated how the tubing was taped to her face to hold it in place. She looked foreign to him; like she was someone he had never met before. How could this woman, dependent on machines and drugs to sustain her, be his mother? His mother was always so alive. She brought love and warmth to his world.

James Heller realized too late that taking Jeff in to see his mother had been a bad idea. He thought that Jeff might take solace in seeing that Audrey was alive and being cared for, but it clearly had the opposite effect. The child was more despondent than he had been before. He was pretty sure that this was a bad time to talk to Jeff about Jack, but he didn't know what else to do. So he sat down next to Jeff, who not surprisingly, had sought out a solitary place for himself. Heller reached for the bag of chips and opened them. "Not eating any chips, Sport?" he asked as he held the open bag in front of his grandson.

Jeff shrugged and took a single chip from the bag. He nibbled on it sullenly.

"There's something I need to talk you about."

Jeff leaned against his grandfather. "About Mom?" he asked.

"No," Heller paused. "About your father."

"Mark?" Jeff queried.

"No, your biological father."

"Jack Bauer." Jeff said without hesitation and, his grandfather noted, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Yes, Jack Bauer," Heller said. "This is complicated, Sport. You know that there was a terrorist attack yesterday in London, right?"

Jeff nodded but said nothing.

Heller continued. "I'm not going to get into all of the details right now, but your father has been working undercover in Europe for a while and he heard that there might be an attack in London and possibly an attempt to kill me." Jeff's blue eyes grew wide as he listened. "He came out of hiding to protect me and to try and stop the attack."

Jeff looked confused. "But the attack still happened. My father didn't stop it."

"You're right, part of the attack still happened, but your father stopped a much bigger part of the plan which was to start a war between the US and China. He also saved my life."

Momentarily forgetting his mother's condition, Jeff smiled brightly. "Wow! That's cool! My father did all that?" Jack had never been more than an idea in Jeff's mind. Jack was the superhero in every movie and the badass action figure in every little boy's toy box. While Audrey hadn't really meant to give Jeff that impression, that was how he perceived his father.

"Yes, he did. Your father is an amazing man, Sport."

"That is so cool!" Jeff gushed. "I wish I could meet him."

"What if I told you that you can meet him? Would you really want to?"

"Of course. I mean, I've always wanted to meet him. Mom always made it sound like it wasn't possible. She said that it was just important that I knew who he was and that I was proud of him."

"He's here in London, Jeff. Before your mother went to surgery, she talked to him and she told him about you. He wants to meet you, too, but only if you're ready."

"Are you kidding, Gramps?" Jeff exclaimed as he jumped up from the sofa. "He's here! I can meet him?"

Heller couldn't help but smile at his grandson's enthusiasm then watched, confused, as Jeff suddenly came back to Earth.

"What about Mark? Is he going to want me to meet him? He doesn't like my father. He and Mom get into arguments whenever she talks to me about my father. I don't want Mark to get mad at her. Not right now, anyway." Jeff's face fell as he sat down and put his head in his hands. "Maybe I better not meet him," he mumbled.

"Sport, this isn't about Mark or your mother. This is about you. Do you want to meet your father? Yes or no?"

"Yes, but not if Mom and Mark are going to fight about it."

"They won't. I promise. That's one of the reasons that Mark left a while ago. He knows that you need to meet Jack. He understands and he won't cause any problems or argue with your mother." Heller wanted to say that Mark would soon be out of the picture, but decided that it wasn't his place. It was also too much information at one time. He believed that, if Audrey lived, she and Jack would end up together, but it was too early to give Jeff hope of finally having the loving, nuclear family that he always wanted.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure. If you want to meet your father, all you have to do is say the word. You don't have to decide now if you don't want to. If you need to think about it, take your time."

Jeff shook his head emphatically. "I don't have to think about it. I want to meet him. All of my friends know their fathers even if they don't live with them or get along with them, at least they know who their father is. I just want to be able to say that I know my father."

Heller felt his voice catch in his throat as he suddenly realized how much he had hurt Jeff by convincing Audrey to keep Jack away from him. He never knew how negatively it had impacted the child. From the time Jeff was small, Jim had told himself that he could be everything that Jeff needed in a father. In his mind, Jack was unimportant but he knew now that he had been terribly wrong. The anguish in Jeff's voice when he said that he wanted to know his father cut James Heller, President of the United States, to his soul. He got his emotions in check and pulled out his phone.

"Agent Morgan," he said as the woman answered the phone. "Can you put me in touch with Jack?"

"He's sitting right in front of me," Kate answered with a smile. "Hang on."

Kate passed the phone to Jack. "Mr. President," he said simply. His heart was pounding with equal measures of anxiety over possibly meeting his son and fear of being rejected by the child all fueled by way too much caffeine.

"I have someone here who would like to meet you, Jack," Heller told him.

Jack smiled and closed his eyes, sending a silent _thank you _skyward. "I can be there in about a minute."

"A minute? Where are you?"

"I'm here at the CIA station debriefing. We're just finishing up. I'll be right there."

Jack hung up the phone and returned it to Kate. "We can finish this later," Kate said. "Go meet your son."

Jack smiled almost sheepishly. "This is all such a shock. I have no idea what I'm going to say to him," he admitted.

"Don't worry about it. You'll think of something," Kate assured him. "Go! Get out of here!" She said playfully. "Jeff's waiting for you."

Jack move quickly down the hall forcing himself not to break into a trot. His heart was pounding with excitement and his head was spinning with thoughts of how this first meeting with his son might go. One of the two Secret Service agents guarding the door stepped forward.

"Mr. Bauer," he said. "I'm Agent Michelson. The President said we should expect you. It's nice to meet you in person."

Jack quickly thanked Michelson again for protecting his family and, after being searched for a weapon, took a nervous step forward as the agent opened the waiting room door. He suddenly felt very alone and very exposed; like an agent without back up. He hadn't been this unsure of himself in a long time. As he crossed the threshold, he watched James Heller stand abruptly. Jeff stood up, too, taking refuge near his grandfather.

"Sport," Heller said pulling the child close to reassure him. "This is your father, Jack Bauer."

"Hello, Jeff," Jack said in a soft voice.

"Hello," Jeff mumbled in reply.

Jack took a few more slow steps forward. "Jeff, I don't know what to say to you," he stammered. "I…I… I'm so happy to meet you. I'm sorry if I'm staring, but I'm just trying to take it all in. I've only known about you since last night." It was a stream of consciousness that he couldn't seem to control. "I'm so sorry that I haven't been a part of your life. I hope I can make it up to you…" The sentence trailed off as Jack watched his son nearly leap across the six foot gap between them and literally land in Jack's arms. The child's eagerness to be close to him overwhelmed Jack who began to cry.

"My Mom's told me all about you," Jeff said as emotion-filled words flooded from his mouth. "She told me you'd be with us if you could. She told me that you'd love me if you knew about me and that someday we'd get to meet. She said that it might not be for a really long time, but now you're here. I just can't believe you're here!"

"I'm here, Jeff. I'm here for you and your mother and I'm not leaving. I won't leave you, I promise you that." Jack continued to hold his son and was finally able to compose himself.

"Are you coming back to the States with us?" Jeff asked.

"That's what I'm hoping to do," Jack told him.

"But what about your work? Mom says that you fight terrorism and what you do is really important."

Jack loosened his grip on his son and moved them both to a sofa where they could sit together. "You know what, Jeff?" Jack asked smiling softly. "I think your mother has been way too gracious when she's talked to you about me. She made me sound a lot better and more important than I really am. There are lots of people who can do my job. Maybe it's time that I let some other guys do it so I can come home and be part of your life."

Jack and Jeff settled back on the sofa. They had years to catch up on and hours with nothing to do but wait. Despite Jeff's initial excitement to meet Jack, it was clear that he was moving forward cautiously. Jack didn't push and allowed him to move forward at his own pace. They talked about everything and anything. At some point, Jack encouraged the President to go back to the presidential quarters and get some sleep. Heller reluctantly agreed only after Jeff assured him that he was fine being left with Jack.

The next two days were more of the same. Jack and Jeff held a nearly nonstop vigil in either the waiting room or, when they were allowed, at Audrey's bedside. James Heller was with them for most of the time, but, out of concern for his health, Jack continued to press him about returning to the presidential quarters at night. Their mood ebbed and flowed with the tide of news provided by the doctors. On the second day, when Audrey showed signs of improvement and started breathing on her own, they were elated. The next morning when she developed an infection and spiked a fever, they were heartsick. Watching father and son brood together would have been almost comical had the situation not been so serious, James Heller thought. Through it all, Audrey was unresponsive, something that was beginning to worry the medical team. She was no longer being sedated and they felt she should have woken up by now.

It wasn't until the morning of the fourth day that things began to change. Jeff was the first to notice. "Hey!" he shouted as he jumped up from the chair across the room from Audrey's bed. "She moved! Dad! Gramps! Look! She's moving!" He ran toward the bed as his father and grandfather stood to see what was going on. Audrey slowly turned her head from side to side and shifted a bit as if trying to adjust her position. Her eyes were closed but the movements were purposeful. "Mom! Wake up!" Jeff called as he grabbed her hand.

"Easy, Son," Jack said, concerned that in his exuberance that Jeff could dislodge an IV. He came up behind Jeff and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Gently. You need to be careful."

Jeff leaned in close to his mother's face. "Mom, can you hear me? Wake up. Please, wake up."

"We're all here, Audrey. Open your eyes for us, honey," her father told her. He had come up on the opposite side of the bed and was clutching her hand.

A nurse rushed into the room to see what was happening. She nodded her approval. "Keep going. Keep talking to her."

Jack reached out and stroked her face. "Listen to my voice, Sweetheart," he said in a silky whisper. "Open your eyes, Audrey." He leaned in close and kissed her lips softly. Audrey inclined her head in his direction and, with eyes still closed, gave a vague smile. Jack kissed her again. "That's it, Sweetheart. Open your eyes. Wake up for us."

Slowly Audrey's eyes began to open. Once they were fully opened, she scanned her field of view first to her son, then to her father and finally to Jack. She smiled and tears began to form. "My three best guys," she whispered. "You're all here!" She reached weakly for Jeff and tugged gently to get him to lean in closer. He hugged her carefully trying to avoid all of the wires and tubes. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice shaky and barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry if I scared you. I love you so much." She looked up at Jack who was smiling. "I take it that you two have met. How's that going?"

"We're doing great, Sweetheart," Jack assured her.

Audrey looked at Jeff who nodded in agreement.

She turned to her father. His face was streaked with tears. She hadn't seen him cry in as long as she could remember. "It's okay, Dad. I'm going to be okay. I'm so sorry that I put you through this. I should have stayed in the presidential quarters. Jiao Sim and my Secret Service agents are dead because of me," Audrey said quietly as he eyes filled with tears.

"No, Audrey. Don't blame yourself. You did what you thought was right. I agreed with you. I sent you out there to negotiate a diplomatic solution with Jiao Sim. Those deaths are on Cheng's head, not yours. He's the one responsible," Heller told her sternly. "I don't ever want you to blame yourself for what happened."

"What happened to Cheng," Audrey asked.

"It's taken care of," Jack said succinctly. "He will never hurt you again, Sweetheart. Never. This time you can be sure of it."

Audrey suspected that the details of Cheng's death were probably best not discussed in front of a child. Especially since the instrument of that death was the child's father. They might talk about it later, in private, but even then she knew Jack would tell her an abridged version of the truth.

Audrey's doctors starting filtering into the room. Each one poked and prodded and asked questions until after a couple of hours, Jack could tell that Audrey was exhausted. As the doctors made their way out of the room, Jack kissed Audrey's forehead and took her hand. "Tired?"

Audrey nodded. "I haven't been awake that long, but I'm exhausted. Do you mind if I go back to sleep for a while?"

"Of course not. You need the rest," Jack assured her.

"You guys look like you could use some sleep, too," she said with a smile. "Why don't you go back to the presidential quarters and get some sleep."

"I don't think I need sleep as much as I want a shower, a change of clothes and some food," Jack told her. "But I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'll stay here with Audrey," Jim told him. "I've been going back to the quarters to sleep at night. You and Jeff haven't left here in the last four days. You two leave for a while." He glanced at his grandson who stood attentively at his mother's side. "What do you say, Sport? How about if you and your dad go and get some real food. You've got to be starving. You've barely eaten anything in the last few days."

"I'm kinda hungry," Jeff admitted. "Are you sure it's okay if we leave for a while, Mom?"

Audrey squeezed her son's hand. "It's fine with me. Go get something to eat." She tilted her head toward Jeff and winked. "Your dad is a big grump when he's hungry."

Jack laughed. "You bet I am! We better get going. There's a place not far from here that makes great burgers. I intend to get the biggest one they make."

"Burgers! Oh boy! Can I get a milkshake, too?" Jeff begged.

"Of course," Jack replied. "What's a burger without a milkshake?" He was thrilled to see his son so animated after the last few days.

"Go easy on the junk food, you two!" Audrey admonished them with a smile.

"Okay, Mom," Jeff said as he kissed her goodbye. "See you soon." He trotted toward the door.

Jack leaned over and kissed Audrey tenderly. "Thank you for allowing me to be part of Jeff's life. He's an amazing kid, Audrey. I love him so much and I'm so proud of him. You've done a wonderful job raising him."

Audrey's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so happy that you two are finally together. I want us to be a family, Jack. It's the only thing I've ever wanted. We can make it happen. I'll work it out with Mark. I'll tell him that I want a divorce."

"Don't worry about it right now. Just know that we're going to be together," Jack said. "I'll see you later. Get some rest."

"Come on, Dad!" Jeff called from the doorway.

"Coming," Jack called. Jim put a hand on his shoulder as he turned.

"When Audrey wakes up, I'll fill her in on everything that happened in the last few days," he told Jack.

Jack nodded. He and the Jim had already discussed it and agreed that it was the President that would talk to Audrey about Mark.

"We'll take our time," Jack said quietly, closing the door behind him.

James Heller turned around and expected Audrey to be dozing off. Instead her eyes, while tired looking, were wide open. "Okay, Dad, what aren't you telling me?"

Her father frowned at her as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"Don't give me that look," Audrey said as forcefully as she could. "There's a reason that Jack's here and Mark isn't. Mark doesn't give up that easily. He hates Jack. We both know that. If Mark isn't here doting on me and pretending that he loves me more than he loves himself, then there's a reason."

Heller almost laughed at his daughter's assessment of the situation. She had been unconscious for the last four days but she could still analyze a situation like no one else. What she said was absolutely true, but Jim hadn't been prepared for it. He turned away trying to regroup.

"Is Mark alright?" Audrey asked. He could hear the concern in her voice. "Please tell me that Jack didn't hurt him."

This time Jim laughed out loud. "No, Audrey, Jack didn't hurt him. He put a gun to his head the other day, but he didn't hurt him."

"Oh, no! What happened? Why would Jack do that?" Audrey gasped and tried to sit up but was stopped by the pain.

"Whoa!" her father said as he pressed his hand gently on her shoulder to hold her down. "Don't try to sit up."

"Don't worry," Audrey said, gingerly rubbing her stomach. "I'll lay still. You just tell me what happened."

"Let me get the nurse and you can have some pain medication."

"No, Dad. If I lay still I'm fine. If they give me medication I'm going to go to sleep and you're going to get out of telling me why Jack was holding a gun to Mark's head."

Jim sighed and took Audrey's hand. "There's no nice way to tell you this, Honey. Mark forged my signature on a rendition order to turn Jack over to the Russians. Jack figured it out and confronted Mark."

"Dad, are you sure? I know Mark is vindictive but that's extreme."

"He admitted it, Honey. He claims that he was trying to help me and that he thought Jack was in London to assassinate me. We both know why he did it. Your marriage has been rocky for the last few years and with Jack back in the picture and your obvious devotion to him…" Jim shrugged. "I think his world was crumbling around him and this seemed like a solution. He didn't think I'd ever find out. Jack would just disappear again."

"So that's the reason the Russians ambushed Jack and Agent Morgan when they were trying to recover the override device."

"Exactly. Had the Russians not ambushed Jack at that moment, he would been able to get the device from Cheng."

"Is he under arrest?"

"No," the President said succinctly.

"How did he talk his way out of that?"

"He didn't. I started to charge him, but Jack said that he could use Mark's help getting to Anatol Stolnavich. Jack felt that Stolnavich was the key to finding Cheng and he was right."

"Let me get this straight," Audrey said incredulously. "Mark Boudreau, who never has a hair out of place, went with Jack to take down Anatol Stolnavich? That's almost laughable."

"Mark didn't have much of a choice. It was either go to prison or go along with Jack and try to redeem himself. And you can laugh all you want, but it worked. They got into Stolnavich's residence and got intel that let them to Cheng."

"So in the end you didn't charge him and as usual, Mark got what he wanted," Audrey said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Not exactly. I fully planned to charge him when he got back here. It was Jack who asked me not to charge him.

"Jack? He's a law and order kind of guy. I can't imagine that he wouldn't want Mark to go to prison," Audrey mused.

Heller nodded. "I'm sure Jack would love nothing more than to throw Mark in prison and let him rot, but he didn't want you and Jeff to have to live through a long, drawn out trial. I have to agree. It would be a media circus. Frankly, in some ways I think that not charging Mark is worse for him than charging him would be."

"How can you possibly believe that, Dad?"

"Mark Boudreau is a lot of things, but he isn't stupid. He knows that his actions directly resulted in the attack that killed Jiao Sim and your security detail and almost killed you. He deeply regrets his actions. Right now, the guilt is killing him."

Audrey shook her head and began to cry. "I just can't believe that Mark would have done that. I, of all people, know how Mark tries to manipulate every situation, but to forge your signature and commit treason…" She couldn't continue. "I honestly can't believe it."

Jim took Audrey's hand and squeezed it. "I'm sorry, Honey. So much of this is my fault. I never should have kept you and Jack apart and I never should have pushed you into marrying Mark when I knew that you didn't love him and he didn't really love you. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I don't expect you to forgive me, Audrey," Jim said as he sat down wearily in a chair next to Audrey's bed.

"There's nothing to forgive, Dad." Audrey said as she cried quietly. "I could have said no at any point. I could have turned down Mark's marriage proposal. I knew that all he wanted was a trophy wife; someone who would ultimately further his own ambitions. I knew that and I married him anyway. And I could have contacted Jack years ago and told him about Jeff, but I didn't. It was all too complicated. It was easier to live the lie I was living. Seeing Jeff with Jack today made me realize what a mistake I made. They look so good together. They need each other." Neither spoke for several minutes. The quiet was punctuated by Audrey's quiet sobs which her father noticed slowed as the time passed and she drifted off to sleep.

xxxXXXxxx

Jack and Jeff had finished their lunch and were returning to the presidential quarters. Mark heard their voices in the entryway. He suppressed his initial thought which was that Jeff was talking louder than necessary and that children needed to learn decorum at an early age. He always felt that Audrey had failed to instill that in Jeff.

"Dad, that was great!" Jeff exclaimed. "That was the best lunch I've ever had. Can we do it again?"

Jack laughed. "Right now? I'm kind of full. Could we wait a day?" he teased.

Jeff became serious. "You know what I mean. I want to spend time with you. Maybe we could get lunch every once in a while, just the two of us, even when Mom's out of the hospital."

Jack became serious as well. "Come here," he said softly. Jeff stepped closer and Jack pulled him into his arms. "We're going to spend lots of time together, son. Even after your Mom gets well. I'll be there for you. We'll do things together, don't worry. Jeff, we're going to be a family. I promise you that." Jack loosened his grip and looked down at Jeff. He smiled at the boy. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me, kid." He hugged Jeff one more time. "Go shower and change clothes. After that we'll go back and see your Mom."

"Cool! I'll hurry," Jeff shouted as he ran toward the private section of the residence.

"Don't run!" Jack called after him. "You don't have to hurry. Let's give your mother a couple more hours to sleep."

Mark came around the corner in a sweater and a pair of jeans. It was a more casual look than he usually sported. Jack couldn't help but notice that despite the casual clothing, Mark still looked uptight.

"Hello," Mark said quietly. "I hear Audrey's doing well today. That's good news."

Jack nodded. "It was good to see her awake. She's still got a long way to go, but she's in good spirits. She's been through worse. She's not going to let this stop her. The doctors all seemed happy with her progress."

"For what it's worth, Jack, I'm sorry that I kept you and Jeff apart. I never realized until the last few days how much Jeff needs a father. Truth is, I never really gave him much thought at all. I'm sorry."

"Jeff's the one who deserves the apology," Jack said coolly.

"I guess you're right," Mark conceded noncommittally. "Now that Audrey's doing better, I'm going to head back to the States. The President asked me to help the Vice President's transition team." Jack nodded. He knew that the President had temporarily turned power over to the Vice President saying that he could not give his full attention to the country while his daughter was gravely ill. When he returned, he intended to resign the presidency. As Chief-of-Staff, it only made sense that Mark work with the transition team. Mark continued. "I know we're not exactly friends, Jack, but I'd like to ask for a favor. I'd like your permission to see Audrey before I leave."

Jack smiled sardonically and shook his head in disbelief. "Mark, you'll never understand Audrey, will you? I don't have the right to give permission for you to see Audrey. I don't own her. Neither do you. You're married to her and you may think you own her, but you don't. Audrey Heller is a fiercely independent, smart and capable woman. That's how her father raised her. That's what first attracted me to her. There may have been a time after China when she was helpless and needy but that time is long past and if I had to guess, I would bet that you encouraged that neediness as long as you could get away with it. I'll bet Audrey could have been back on her feet a lot earlier but you exploited her weakness and tried to keep her dependent on you. You kept her from telling me that I had a son in order to maintain more control over her. You manipulated her and used her for the last decade. Don't come to me and ask for permission to see Audrey. She makes her own decisions and always will. If you want to see her, you'll have to ask her yourself. That's her decision to make." Jack walked away not waiting or a response from Mark.

Mark stood, staring at the floor. Everything Jack said was true and he knew it. He had been beating himself up for days not only over signing the rendition order and the events that resulted from it, but also over his entire relationship with Audrey. He thought he was at rock bottom, but having to hear Jack say it out loud made it ten times worse. He walked into the President's office and poured three fingers of bourbon and tossed it back. It burned the whole way down. He took a deep breath and poured a second drink. This one he would drink slowly. Liquid courage, his father called it. Mark took out his phone and dialed. "Mr. President," he said deferentially. Their relationship had become more formal over the last three days. After exchanging pleasantries, Mark got to the point. "I'm finalizing my plans to go back to D.C. late tomorrow. I was hoping to see Audrey before I leave. I was wondering if she would be willing to see me. I fully understand if she refuses, but I'd like to clear the air now."

Heller indicated that Audrey was still sleeping but he would deliver the message when she woke. Jim, like Jack before him, made it clear that it was a decision that Audrey had to make. Mark murmured his understanding and said goodbye. _How the mighty have fallen_, he thought. _A few days ago I was Chief-of-Staff and people waited for my call. Now I'm on the other end of that line; I'm doing the waiting. I guess I better get used to it._ With that he threw back the second glass of bourbon and returned to his room to finish packing... and wait.

xxxXXXxxx

James Heller was stilling next to Audrey's bed marveling at how incredibly beautiful she was, even after all she had been through in the last few days. He watched as she heaved a soft sigh and started to stretch. She winced and blinked her eyes open. Her father took her hand and squeezed it lightly. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I guess I was trying to turn and it hurt. I'm okay now. How long did I sleep?"

"About four hours."

"Did you sit here and stare at me the whole time?"

"Pretty much," Heller admitted. "And I loved every minute of it. I'm just so grateful that you're alive, Honey. I can't begin to tell you how scared I was." He kissed her hand. "I was so afraid of losing you."

"That's what you get for that stunt the other day when you went to Wembley Stadium! Consider it payback for what you did to me," Audrey said in a tone that said she was teasing, but her father knew differently.

"Okay, we're even," her father conceded. He decided that this was a good time to change the subject. "Mark called a couple of hours ago. He's going home tomorrow to head up the transition team. He wants to see you before he goes."

Audrey shrugged and looked away. "I guess I have to see him eventually. I might as well get it over with." She sighed.

Mark arrived about a half hour later. The President had excused himself so that the two could talk privately.

"Audrey," Mark said nervously. "Thank God you're getting better. There aren't enough words in the language for me to tell you how sorry I am. The fact that you're here…" he looked away. "This is all my fault. I don't know what to say."

"Don't, Mark. There's no point in this. I know you're sorry and I'd love to say that I forgive you, but I'm having trouble with that. I'm sure my anger will fade over time, but right now it's pretty intense. I'm not angry about what happened to me. I'm angry that you betrayed my father and I'm angry about what you did to Jack." Audrey stopped for a moment to compose herself and calm down. She continued in a quieter voice. "I want you to know that I'm angry with myself, too. We never would have gotten to this point if I had listened to my heart years ago. I knew when we got married that it was wrong. You did, too. Admit it."

Mark dropped his eyes and nodded. "I was so sure that I could make you love me. I wanted you to love me."

Audrey shook her head. "No you didn't. Be honest with yourself for once, Mark. You never cared if I loved you. You wanted a trophy wife. I was politically well connected and I looked good on your arm. That was all that was important to you. Am I right?"

"Yes," Mark admitted. "The problem is that it was all about me. It always has been. That's the story of my life." Neither spoke for a long moment. It was Mark who broke the silence. "When I get back to D.C., I'll talk to Steve O'Brien." Audrey knew that O'Brien was not only a college friend of Mark's but was one of the best known divorce lawyers in Virginia. "I'll have Steve file all of the paperwork. Just let him know who your lawyer is and I promise you that we'll make this as painless as possible. I'll move my things out of the house before you get back."

"You don't have to do that. I know you love that house. Jeff and I are probably going to move to my father's farm as soon as the school year is over. We can rent a condo until then."

"No," Mark told her. "You need to recover at home. Besides, I won't need a place that big. I don't know that I'm going to stay in Washington. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I might do some traveling and try to figure out how to reinvent myself."

"You'll land on your feet, Mark. You always do." Audrey's voice wavered and her eyes filled with tears. "Take care of yourself, Mark."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You, too. Get well. You deserve nothing but the best, Audrey. I wish you and Jack all the happiness in the world. For the record, I was wrong to make you keep Jeff away from Jack. Jack's a natural father. I watched his interactions with Jeff this afternoon, he's great with Jeff. The two just look right together. The three of you are going to be a wonderful family."

Mark left the room quietly. Twice he looked back at Audrey, watching her dab her eyes with a tissue, but she never looked up at him. He wasn't sure that he had ever felt emptier. The President stood nearby. "You okay?" he asked Mark.

"Not really, but I guess that's what I deserve." He cleared his throat to try and suppress the emotion and then went on, "I'll be in touch with you as soon as I've talked to the Vice President. When are you planning on making the announcement?

"If Audrey continues to improve, I think I'm going to head home the day after tomorrow. Once I'm back in Washington, there's no point in delaying it. If the Vice President and the transition team is ready, I think I should address the nation the day after I get back."

"I'll pass that on to the Vice President. I think the transition team will be ready. I'm sorry, Mr. President. I was hoping that you could complete your term. I'm sorry that it came to this."

"Don't be. To tell you the truth, I'm at peace with myself. I feel like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I wanted more than anything in the world to be President of the United States and it was one hell of a ride. Once I got the Alzheimer's diagnosis and I realized that life, as I know it, had a defined end. At that point, the presidency became a burden. I wanted to be able to enjoy what was left. I wanted to be able to spend time with Audrey and Jeff. I wanted to go to my farm and ride my favorite horse and watch the sunset over the mountains. Everything that happened this week just made that fact clearer. For the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to relaxing."

"Good," Mark said with a soft smile. "I hope you enjoy it. I'll see you back in Washington."

Mark was walking toward the exit as Jack and Jeff were walking in. They all stopped to exchange pleasantries. Mark looked intently at Jeff and then spoke to him. "Jeff, I know we've never been very close. I'm sorry about that. I finally realized what I missed by not being a bigger part of your life. I've made a lot of mistakes but that one is one I'll regret forever. Take care of yourself. You've got a great future ahead of you."

Jeff thanked him and the two shook hands. Jeff looked back and forth between his father and stepfather and sensed the tension between then. "Dad, is it okay if I go to Mom's room?"

Jack nodded and smiled at him. "Tell her I'll be there in a few minutes."

Mark and Jack stood in silence while Jeff moved out of earshot. Mark spoke first. "I know you and Audrey haven't had time to talk or to make any decisions, but I just want you to know that whatever you decide, I won't stand in your way. As soon as the President resigns and the transition is made, I'll get in touch with my attorney and file for divorce. After that I promise that I'll disappear from your lives. This is going to sound crazy, but there's a part of me that's actually happy. I've known for a long time that Audrey was unhappy in our marriage. I ignored it, of course, because our remaining a couple always benefitted me. But in some dark recess of my mind, I've always felt a little guilty about that. I justified our staying together by telling myself that if we separated she would just be alone and that wasn't any better than being in a loveless marriage. As soon as I found out that you were in London, I knew for a fact that Audrey and I were through. Even if she couldn't have you, she realized that day how much she loved you and while she tried to hide it from me, she couldn't. Audrey's never been a good liar and there was no way that she could hide her feelings from me. When anyone mentioned your name, she lit up. She absolutely sparkled. I haven't given her a lot of reasons to be happy over the last ten years and it's just good to see her happy. I know that you'll devote your life to making her happy and that's something that I could never do."

Jack watched as Mark left, then he turned and headed to Audrey's room and a future that only a few days ago had seem impossible. Jack Bauer, loner and rogue agent who drifted from crisis to crisis, had been replaced by Jack Bauer, father, grandfather and, hopefully, soon-to-be husband surrounded by the warmth of a loving family and nothing, absolutely nothing, could make him happier than that.

_Author's note: As I said at the beginning of the story, the end of 24: Live Another Day wasn't what most of us wanted. Having said that, I have to admit that while dissatisfying, it was probably the most dramatic way they could have ended it. This story was my way of giving Jack that happy ending that we all want for him. I hope it at least made you smile at the possibilities. _

_Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I can't tell you how much reviews mean to me. Good or bad, they mean that someone is reading and considers the story worth their time. After putting dozens and dozens of hours into writing the story, knowing that is gratifying to me. So, if you haven't taken a second and reviewed the earlier chapters, I hope you'll review now. To those of you who have reviewed right along, I can't thank you enough. It is so encouraging. _


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